24 Hours of Le Mans: Ferrari «more offensive» and big changes in sight

The brand has won the classic three times in a row. Winning a fourth will be no easy task.

" This edition will be Ferrari's toughest yet ». These are the words of Ferdinando Cannizzo, technical manager of the Prancing Horse's endurance programs.

After three overall victories at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2023, 2024 and 2025, the Italian brand will have its work cut out to defend its trophies. 

What do the times say? On Wednesday evening, the N°83 car, winner in 2025, was eliminated from the first qualifying session. She will start from 17^e place on Saturday afternoon. The No. 50 and No. 51 Ferraris, for their part, were only 14th.^e and 15^e ranks.

But the real level of the 499Ps remains unknown. Last year, the cars struggled in qualifying before shining in the race.

It should be remembered that the parameters of the Balance of Performance (BoP), responsible for balancing the level of the cars in the Hypercars category, are now being kept secret by the organizers. Above all, conditions are set to be very different this weekend, with temperatures rising sharply in the Sarthe region.

Only one winner...

On Wednesday morning, the management of the Ferrari AF Corse team shared their feelings ahead of the 94th race of the season.^e edition of the classic at a press briefing in the circuit's paddock:

" Only one team will win, noted Antonello Coletta, Ferrari's endurance and Corsican clientele manager. After three wins, we can't expect to win every time. ".

" Ferrari always strives to do things as well as possible. We know the value of our car, our team and our drivers. We are convinced that we will always be competitive and capable of fighting for victory. ".

Antonello Coletta continues: « JI prefer to wait and see the test, We'll have to analyze the situation calmly and lucidly, as we've always done, and then we'll see. But before considering a defeat as a failure, honestly, I prefer to wait. "

More offensive

The 499P is unchanged this year, apart from some imperceptible adjustments resulting from a new wind tunnel run in the USA this winter. But the Hypercar field is denser than ever, with 11 cars timed in the same second during qualifying.

" We need to be more offensive, to surprise our opponents, because we know that in many key areas we cannot compete with them. »says Ferdinando Cannizzo.  

" So we need to approach the race differently, says the engineer. We're thinking about how to turn the situation around and be there at the right time. But it won't be easy. "

One of the levers will be the Ferrari AF Corse operation. To repeat its exploits of previous editions, the team must achieve a perfect record. This means avoiding the penalties and off-track excursions that disrupted last year's results. 

Another key factor will be tire management. For the first time at Le Mans, Michelin is introducing its Pilot Sport Endurance tires, made from 50 % of recycled or renewable materials.

Ferdinando Cannizzo explains: « This may be one of the first 24 Hours in which it will be possible to use all three compounds. (soft, medium and hard, ed. note), as the race is expected to be characterized by very, very high temperatures ".

Meteo France forecasts mercury at 26 and 27°C for Saturday and Sunday afternoon. On asphalt, temperatures could exceed 50°C.

With this in mind, the team experimented. In the first free practice session on Wednesday afternoon, the #50 Ferrari was the only car on the Hypercar grid to use hard rear tires.

This will compensate for a «delay» in learning about the new tires. The Ferrari AF Corse team was forced to cancel a private test session in Qatar at the last minute in the spring, due to the situation in the Middle East.

A redesigned 499P coming soon

At the press briefing, the management team also discussed the next steps in the program. Launched at the start of the 2023 season, the 499P has so far undergone only one performance evolution (the correct term is «Joker EVO» in technical regulations).

In the summer of 2024, a few weeks after the 24 Hours, the 499P showed up at the Interlagos round with fins under the front lights and new brake cooling channels.

In theory, each car can receive five modifications before the end of the 2027 season. And unlike BMW, Cadillac or Alpine - which have approved several modifications over the last three seasons - La Rossa has kept many jokers up its sleeve.

Maranello will be bringing a heavily modified 499P to the track in the next few months. Antonello Coletta and Ferdinando Cannizzo won't reveal any information about the parts replaced or the timing of the operation. But the start of the 2027 season is the logical deadline.

The word «integration» was repeated several times by Ferdinando Cannizzo, the «father» of the Emilian Hypercar, to justify this choice:

" Modify suhe rear suspension of one of our cars has repercussions on the transmission, the connection with the engine and many other aspects of aerodynamics. So we thought it wise to take an integrated approach to the various areas of the car ".

Clearly, the idea is to do all the work at once, like the recent Toyota TR010, rather than opt for «small» revisions like BMW or Cadillac. Ferrari also wanted to know its car inside out before setting a course.

Questioned by Motorsport.com on the number of jokers involved in this evolution, Ferdinando Cannizzo « more than two and less than four ». The modifications must be assessed by the Fédération Internationale Automobile and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). This work is already underway.

" Over the years, as we have constantly deepened our knowledge of our car and pushed the limits of its performance, we have identified the weak points that were holding us back., explained Ferdinando Cannizzo. Once we had identified these weak points, we analysed them not individually, but as a whole. ".

Whatever the result on Sunday, a radically different 499P will be lining up at the start of the 2027 Le Mans 24 Hours.