The 102nd edition of the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans concluded on Sunday 15 June, giving Ferrari a triumphant epilogue: the Prancing Horse has in fact achieved its third consecutive victory in this iconic competition. This year’s triumph was the Ferrari 499P number #83 of the private AF Corse team, masterfully driven by the trio of Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Philip Hanson. A result that further strengthens the supremacy of the Maranello Hypercar on the Circuit de la Sarthe.
Ready, set, go!
It was a weekend dominated by the reds. The three Ferraris in the race were able to quickly recover the ground lost in Saturday’s qualifying, which did not live up to expectations. In just a few laps, the cars moved into the top positions and, after just two and a half hours of racing, the #50 driven by Antonio Fuoco was already in the lead, closely followed by its sisters #51 and #83. Thanks to the constant pace of the Ferraris and the Porsche 963, and a race without any significant interruptions – except for a safety car – the leading cars managed to distance the rest of the group, continuing a linear race until the tense finale in the final hours.
The final duel and the mistake of #51
The fight for the victory was concentrated between the three Ferrari 499Ps and the #6 Porsche. Tensions exploded during the twentieth hour of the race, when the #51 Ferrari, in the lead with Alessandro Pier Guidi, spun at the entrance to the pit lane. A fatal mistake for the reigning champion crew, who lost the lead and finished in third place, leaving the lead to the #83 of AF Corse. From that moment on, Robert Kubica kept his cool, masterfully managing the advantage over the #6 Porsche of Estre, repelling every attempt to overtake and crossing the finish line in first position.
Checkered flag and… disqualification of #50
The final podium saw the AF Corse Ferrari #83 (Kubica, Ye, Hanson) triumph with 387 laps completed. In second place, just 14 seconds behind, was the Porsche Penske #6 (Estre, Vanthoor, Campbell), protagonist of an exceptional performance. Completing the Ferrari triumph, the #51 (Giovinazzi, Pier Guidi, Calado) finished third 28 seconds behind the winner, while the #50 (Fuoco, Molina, Nielsen) was fourth, just over a minute behind.
However, the celebrations for the fourth position of the #50 Ferrari (Fuoco, Molina, Nielsen) were short-lived. In the post-race technical checks, carried out on Sunday 15 June, the stewards found a technical irregularity on the #50 car: the stewards found a non-conformity of the rear wing support of the car during the deflection test, arriving at the decision of immediate disqualification. This news does not affect the triumph of the #83 and #51, but it represents a bitter blow for the #50 crew, who had driven an impeccable race.
A victory worth double
This result not only represents a new demonstration of Ferrari’s superiority on the La Sarthe circuit, but also testifies to the consistency and solidity of the 499P project, capable of winning with three different crews: Pier Guidi-Calado-Giovinazzi in 2023, Fuoco-Molina-Nielsen in 2024 and Kubica-Ye-Hanson this year. With this latest victory, Ferrari reaches twelve overall victories at Le Mans, once again equalling the glories of the 1960s, when it dominated the scene with consecutive victories. The victory of the #83, obtained by a private team but with the official support of the Maranello company, underlines the effectiveness and versatility of the 499P, capable of imposing itself at the top in three different editions with different crews.
A personal success for Robert Kubica
This weekend’s victory takes on an even deeper meaning for Robert Kubica. As he explained in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, the Polish driver faced a battle much bigger than the one on the track:
“For me, the greatest success has nothing to do with racing: the real battle I had to face was with my head to accept the accident and its consequences, my limits and the recovery period. It was months and years of mental work to stop thinking about what could have been, and instead focus on goals for the future”.
The triumph at Le Mans represented a fundamental stage in his physical and mental recovery after the serious accident in the Rally Andorra in 2011.
Ferrari protagonist also in LMGT3
The Maranello-based company also shone in the LMGT3 class. The Ferrari 296 of the Vista AF Corse team, driven by François Heriau, Kei Cozzolino and the Italian Alessio Rovera, obtained an excellent second place, just behind the category-winning Porsche
Next appointment: Brazil
Thus ends another exciting chapter in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but the WEC does not stop: the next event is set for July 13 for the 6 Hours of Brazil.
