Ferrari

The Ferrari 499P in Portimão for the second round of the FIA WEC

Ferrari Hypercars stop off in Portugal for the second round of the championship The Prancing Horse at Portimão: a short but triumph-filled history Technical: how the steering wheel of the 499P was designed Driver Miguel Molina: “Defending the Ferrari Scudetto is an incredible thrill” Green flag on Sunday, 16 April

SEE THE VIDEO OF TESTS IN PORTIMAO (click here)

Maranello, 4 April 2023 – Ferrari is ready to make a comeback in the top class of the FIA World Endurance Championship at the 6 Hours of Portimão to be held over the weekend of 16 April. For the second time in its recent history, the Portuguese circuit, which opened in 2008, will host a round of the World Endurance Championship. 

The two Ferrari 499P crews arrive in the Algarve after a positive debut on 17 March on American soil, where the no. 50 Le Mans Hypercar driven by Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen took pole position and third place in the race, while the no. 51, crewed by Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi, crossed the line in seventh place. 

After the opening round the Ferrari – AF Corse team occupies second position in the Constructors’ standings, 14 points behind Toyota, while in the Drivers’ standings the crew of the no. 50 499P is third on 24 points and their no. 51 teammates hold seventh spot with 9 points. 

The weekend at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão gets underway on Friday, 14 April with two free practice sessions scheduled for 10:30am and 3:30pm; on Saturday 15, after the third free practice session at 11:15am, there will be the qualifying session reserved for the Hypercar class at 4:20pm to determine the starting grid for the 6 Hours which will get underway at 12:00pm on Sunday, 16 April (all times indicated are local).

The first episode of “The Red Line”, an account of the World Endurance Championship weekends experienced alongside the Ferrari 499P team and drivers, is available on the “Ferrari” YouTube channel. The format offers exclusive images and an unprecedented point of view to tell the story of the Prancing Horse’s return to the FIA WEC top class. The episodes will be replayed in the following championship rounds, with a video released two weeks after the event.

 

TECH INSIGHT – THE STEERING WHEEL

This compact object houses cutting-edge technology, the fruit of the technical and sporting experience of years of endurance racing. A racing car’s steering wheel is a concentration of solutions and is the primary interface between the 499P driver and their Hypercar. This instrument allows you to manage the power of the hybrid powertrain, communicate with the garage, and adjust the drive settings, adapting them to changing asphalt conditions. The touch controls, the central screen, and the levers that fashion this high-tech electronic gem with over 500 components are the product of the Maranello engineers’ creativity and intuition, plus the invaluable feedback from the Prancing Horse’s official drivers. “From the first sketch to the prototypes used in testing all the way to the inaugural race of the FIA WEC 2023, the steering wheel has evolved to adapt to the demands of performance and functionality,” explains Benedicte Prioul, GT & Sports Race Cars Electronics and Controls Manager.

 

DRIVER PROFILE – MIGUEL MOLINA

Miguel Molina has recorded 33 FIA WEC starts, with two wins in the series-derived classes, including one in Bahrain in November 2022 at the race that brought the LMGTE Pro era to an end. “Sport has always been part of my family: my father was a driver, my mother played handball,” says the Spanish driver, born in 1989. “The first race won? I was eight years old, when this amazing, intense but sometimes tough journey began, but the satisfactions achieved have repaid any sacrifices made. With the Hypercar I am at the peak of my career: to race for the Ferrari Scudetto is an incredible thrill.” 

 

THE HISTORY – SHORT BUT SUCCESSFUL 

Inaugurated in 2008, the circuit hosting the 6 Hours of Portimão, the second round of the 2023 calendar, is 4.684 kilometres in length and includes 16 turns. The Portuguese venue has only hosted the World Endurance Championship on one occasion, in 2021, when the 8-hour race saw the LMGTE Pro class triumph for the AF Corse-run 488 GTE driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado, ahead of teammates Daniel Serra and Miguel Molina, and the LMGTE Am class success of the Cetilar Racing car driven by Antonio Fuoco, Roberto Lacorte and Giorgio Sernagiotto. 

 

FACTS AND FIGURES 

2008: inauguration year of the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve

4.684: length of the circuit (in kilometres)

2021: the year in which the Portuguese track hosted an FIA WEC race over the 8-hour distance for the first time 

2: Ferrari’s LMGTE Pro and LMGTE Am class wins in the only previous championship race held at Portimão

24: the points in the Constructors’ standings placing Ferrari in second position in the run-up to the round in Portugal

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