Words and images by Eddie LePine
I have always been a Ferrari fan – I do not hesitate to disclose my affinity for the brand. Speed, style, power – Ferrari embodies it all. Add to that the storied history of their founder, Enzo Ferrari, and you have the stuff of legends.
In Formula One, Ferrari is the most successful Formula One manufacturer of all time with the following stats: 16 Constructors’ Championships, 15 Drivers’ Championships, most Formula One starts, most wins, most one-two finishes, most podiums, most pole positions, most fastest laps, most laps led, most Constructors’ Championship points and most Drivers’ Championship points.
In the sports car ranks Ferrari has won Le Mans overall 11 times (including the last two in a row, 2023 & 2024), The 12 Hours of Sebring 12 times, plus literally countless GT class wins and championships in series all over the world. To this day, they continue to win.
“Racing is a great mania to which one must sacrifice everything, without reticence, without hesitation.” – Enzo Ferrari.
Perhaps that is why I was anxious to visit the Circuit of the Americas to catch up with the Ferrari factory drivers, the factory and privateer teams and to take a close look at their latest creation, the Ferrari 499P.
The Circuit of the Americas, located just outside Austin, Texas is home to the ‘Lone Star Le Mans’ the fifth round of the 2024 FIA-WEC World Championship. After partnering with IMSA for a couple of years at Sebring as part of ‘Super Sebring’, the WEC has found a long term home in Texas.
I was frankly, pleasantly surprised at the size of the crowds that appeared at COTA to see the FIA-WEC cars and teams in action. Although not nearly as large as the massive crowds who show up for Formula One at Austin, the announced weekend crowd of 65,000+ seemed about right. It is apparent that the FIA-WEC is growing in popularity worldwide, and the race at the Circuit of the Americas was no exception.
There were 36 total entries for the race, evenly split between GT3 and Hypercar (18 0f each). I was following the Hypercar battle, and in particular the fortunes of Ferrari, who had two factory 499P Hypercars and one indentical car from privateer AF Corse.
The beautiful yellow #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P ended up winning the race, with drivers Robert Kubica, Robert Shwartzman and Yifei Ye combining for the 1.780 second victory over Toyota. The #50 Ferrari 499P of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen (your 2024 Le Mans winners) rounded out the podium finishers. The pole winning #51 Ferrari 499P, piloted by James Caldao, Antonio Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi suffered an electronics problem and failed to finish. (I guess the Ferrari legend has some other truths – Ed.)
All in all, an excellent weekend for Ferrari – pole position and a first and third place finish. Ferrari and its drivers are still within striking distance for the World Championship with two rounds remaining on the FIA-WEC calendar – Japan and Bahrain.
I am certain that Ferrari, AF Corse and its drivers will keep this Enzo Ferrari quote in mind as they pursue the Championship in the remaining two races:
“The most important victory is the one which has yet to arrive.”
See you at the races.
