The first Ferrari prototype to race in factory hands at Le Mans since 1973
Ferrari has come into the FIA World Endurance Championship with a bang, bagging podium finishes in the first three races of the 2023 season, and almost netting two pole positions in the process. Only a track limits infringement at Spa, where Antonio Giovinazzi ran through the gravel on his way to the fastest lap time in qualifying, robbed the Italian manufacturer of a second pole of the season.
It has been an incredible start to the programme for a car that, up until July of 2022, had not yet turned a wheel, but even though the 499P has proven competitive and the most likely car to spring an upset at Le Mans in 2023, not even they believe it can challenge Toyota in the race this year. For although the car is fast, issues with tyre wear and reliability of the hybrid system have been flagged up as warnings ahead of Le Mans.
This is the first Ferrari prototype to race in factory hands at Le Mans since 1973, when the Prancing Horse sent a brace of 312 PBs to the race. Since then, the brand has been represented in GT and prototype racing by privateers, but not by the manufacturer itself.
The team behind the car evolved out of those who designed and raced the 488 GTE, including the AF Corse team that runs the track operations of the 499P car.
Ferrari’s development team brought the design and development of the successor to the 488, the 296 GT3, in house,
