«Spa has always been a friendly circuit for Ferrari. Giuliano Salvi, head of testing and racing for the brand's GT and Prototype programs, confides this on the eve of the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, round two of the World Endurance Championship (WEC).
Last year, Ferrari completed a one-two in Belgium: the n°51 499P driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and ntonio Giovinazzi won after six hours of racing, ahead of the sister car driven by Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen and ntonio Fuoco. The Ferraris also occupied the top three places on the starting grid.
The previous year, Ferrari was in the running for victory before a red flag ruined the Ferrari AF Corse team's strategy. Since its racing debut in 2023, the 499P has always shone in the big curves between the fir trees, thanks in particular to its aerodynamic ease at high speed.
An advantage in pace is therefore more likely to translate into results than on tracks where track position counts for more. We've just come from Imola, which is a track where it's almost impossible to overtake,« says Pier Guidi, who won here last year. Here, we can fight and overtake our rivals.»
Familiar terrain
Ferrari approaches the event with the advantage of knowing its 499P by heart on this circuit. Unlike BMW, Cadillac or Alpine, the program managers did not use an evo joker to develop their Hypercar this winter. Only a slight recalibration took place, following new measurements in the «official» Windshear wind tunnel.
«In the first year, we learned a lot. The evolution carried over to 2024 also had a few surprises in store for us. Now we're more or less in the fine-tuning phase, trying to get the most out of our 499P», Giuliano Salvi sums up.
The car no longer holds any (un)pleasant surprises, while its rivals still have to tame Hypercars modified a few months ago. Nevertheless, the team remains vigilant in the face of Toyota, the winner at Imola. The characteristics of the Balance of Performance (BoP), which will no longer be made public this season, are another unknown factor.
«The field is really very tight,» moderates Giuliano Salvi. In free practice, Alpine and Cadillac were very fast, and Aston Martin also had a shot at the top 10." The game is increasingly open, with the emphasis on good execution.
Tires to the test
For Ferrari AF Corse, the biggest unknown remains the new range of tires supplied by Michelin. The manufacturer has revised its dry track rubber for the 2026 campaign, with the introduction of 50 % of renewable or recycled materials, while improving the speed of the tyres.
temperature setting.
For its second world outing, the Pilot Sport Endurance range will undergo a much more demanding test in the Ardennes. Spa is a much more energetic track than Imola, and the second-fastest circuit of the season,« explains Pierre Alves, Michelin Motorsport Endurance Manager. Energy means temperature, and heat means wear and tear. On this track, degradation is much more pronounced.»
For a long time, tire management was a weak point for the Ferrari 499P - particularly during the first campaign, in 2023, when the Hypercar acquired the image of a «rubber eater». Nevertheless, progress was made rapidly, notably by enriching the tuning database to improve its use.
«At the start of our program, the benchmark for tire management was Toyota,» Pier Guidi told us last year. But I think we're at their level now.»
Will this reset penalize Ferrari in Belgium? The team has driven less with the new Michelin compounds than IMSA manufacturers such as Cadillac and BMW. Especially as soft compounds are used more than before, upsetting some of the certainties of engineers and drivers alike.
«We still have a lot to learn on such a demanding circuit,» admits the reigning world champion. I hope the weather will be kind so we can test things during free practice. We've already got some good knowledge, but there's certainly room for improvement."
Friends sometimes have surprises in store.
This flyby was sent to reset your feed 📲🫵#FerrariHypercar #WEC #6HSpa pic.twitter.com/TGIdmZkq6p
- Ferrari Hypercar (@FerrariHypercar) May 7, 2026
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