For its return to Sarthe after 50 years of absence, Ferrari marked the occasion by placing its two Ferrari 499Ps on the front row of the 24 Hours of Le Mans last year, the No. 50 setting the best time during the ‘Hyperpole. The crew composed of Miguel Molina, Antonio Fuoco And Nicklas Nielsen was, however, unable to confirm this result during the double round of the clock, crossing the checkered flag in fifth place and leaving victory to the sister car, the No. 51.
This year, there is an air of revenge in the Sarthois sky. The #50 Ferrari 499P, author of the fourth fastest time in the Hyperpole, will start from the second row, alongside the #51. For Miguel Molina, last year’s bitter defeat left a taste of unfinished business within the Italian crew, which is clearly aiming for victory in this 92nd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“We’ve been wanting to come back here for a year,” says Molina. “I think we felt like we lost the opportunity to win this race and we couldn’t wait to come back. We’re really motivated and really focused on the things we need to do. With our mental strength, I think This race will be really good and we’re going to go hard.”
“In the 50 we are lucky with Nicklas, Antonio and myself, to have a very similar riding style. So most of the time when we ask for something for all three it works well, it It’s an advantage for other crews, it’s not always like that, sometimes you have to sacrifice yourself. But like I said, we’re lucky and normally all the changes we make work quite well. for all three.”
“The car is performing well, that’s a good thing and it’s a good base. Last night we felt we made a good improvement as well. Hopefully it will pay off at the end of the race. So with all the development and all this experience we’ve generated, let’s hope it works for 24 hours.”
#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
More competitive opponents
At the wheel of the 499P #50 on Thursday during the Hyperpole, Antonio Fuoco hopes, like his teammate, to put last year’s result behind him. However, with the Hypercar class tighter than ever, the Italian driver believes the task will be much more difficult than the previous edition, citing Porsche, Cadillac and Toyota as the Prancing Horse’s main rivals.
“Since the Test Day, we have seen that many competitors are present, in particular Cadillac and Porsche, but I think Toyota will also be there for the race. Unfortunately, they were not qualified for the hyperpole, but if we look at their pace during free practice, especially in the night session, they really did a good job.”
“I think it’s pretty close because even Alpine is there. So we’re pretty close with everyone, but I think Toyota, Porsche and Cadillac are a little more experienced than them. They look d “Be a little faster than the two BMWs too, so I think it will be more difficult than last year.”
Since the start of the Test Day, Porsche has often emerged as the big favorite for this weekend, in particular because of their very good start to the season, crowned with two victories, in Qatar for the factory #6 and at Spa for the #12 of the Jota team.
“It will be difficult to beat them,” says Fuoco. “Also, they showed that they already have a very good car since the start of the season in Qatar. This year they look very, very competitive. I think it’s going to be really close with them. Honestly , I think it’s going to be very difficult We are giving our best so far and I think now everyone is waiting for the race to show where we are, where they are and fight with them.
