Ferrari’s Head of Endurance Racing, Antonello Coletta, has admitted that the Italian manufacturer could have achieved more during the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship, acknowledging mistakes and missed opportunities while praising Toyota’s superior performance. Speaking at Monza ahead of the season-ending six-hour race, the Ferrari executive also discussed the development of the 499P’s successor, the team’s plans for 2027 and the challenges awaiting its endurance racing programme over the winter.
Monza represents a home race for Ferrari, with the support of the Italian fans providing additional motivation to finish the WEC season as strongly as possible. The event also marks the closing chapter of the original Ferrari 499P, which is preparing to make way for an evolved version next year. The manufacturer has already begun working on its next-generation package, with the Ferrari 499P Evo development programme forming an important part of its preparations for the 2027 campaign.
During the 6 Hours of Monza weekend, Antonello Coletta, Ferrari’s Global Head of Endurance Cars and Corse Clienti, reflected on both the current season and the four years since the manufacturer’s return to the top category of the World Endurance Championship.
Antonello Coletta admits Ferrari could have achieved more in the 2026 WEC season
How do you assess the 2026 season compared with the previous year?
“2026 has been a more difficult year, as we expected. We imagined that while we were finishing last season by winning, all our rivals were sharpening their weapons in preparation to make their mark this year. We made a good start at Imola, then experienced two very complicated races at Spa and Le Mans, for a number of reasons that we won’t go into here.
“Those were two races where we didn’t expect to struggle quite so much. Things went well in Brazil, frankly even better than we had expected. Perhaps we could even have fought for victory with a few fewer mistakes on our part, because we make mistakes too. We have to learn from what happens and try to understand where those mistakes are being made.
“Then, as usual at Fuji, it was an extremely difficult race. We won, at a circuit where we have always performed very well, just as we have at Spa and Le Mans, although the conditions there were different.
“At Barcelona, we were the best of the rest, because Toyota were twice as quick. Full credit to them, absolutely, and we’ll see how things go here.
“My assessment of the season is that we have completed a fourth year with a car that, more or less, has remained the same throughout. We did that deliberately, because we believed we could still be competitive, and we concentrated our efforts on everything needed to develop the new car for next year.
“In any case, I believe we could have achieved a little more than our current position in the standings suggests, partly because of some mistakes of our own and partly because of other circumstances that were not entirely within our control.”
The assessment comes after a campaign in which Ferrari has faced increasingly strong competition in the Hypercar category. The team’s difficulties were particularly apparent during the recent Barcelona round, where Toyota secured the championship while the Ferrari #50 finished on the podium.
Why Ferrari’s second half of the WEC season was different from 2025
Was the second half of the season different compared with last year? What were the main differences?
“The two seasons have been completely different. If we look at the calendar, only Barcelona changed, because the other circuits were the same. The biggest difference was Brazil, where I believe we also made progress ourselves.
“As for the rest, things were more or less the same. Perhaps Fuji went better last year than it did this year.
“I don’t agree with the suggestion that the second half of the season was better. Let’s say we lost some ground at Barcelona, but it is difficult to make a comparison because that race should be measured against Qatar, where last year we finished first, second and third. So, from that perspective, this year was worse there too.”
Ferrari could support the #50 car in the fight for third place
The Ferrari #50 can still fight for third place. Will there be a strategy to help the car achieve that result?
“We will do everything possible if the circumstances allow it. Obviously, we will have to see how the race develops and where we are positioned.
“If there is an opportunity to help the #50 secure third place without compromising anyone else’s race, and if there is a chance of achieving a good result, then absolutely, yes.
“We already demonstrated that last year, when we did everything possible at Bahrain to finish the championship in first, second and third positions.”
The final round at Monza therefore offers Ferrari another opportunity to improve its championship position before the season concludes. The Italian manufacturer will be looking to finish the campaign positively on home soil, with the full 2026 WEC Monza weekend schedule covering the practice sessions, qualifying and six-hour race.
New Monza asphalt and changing weather create uncertainty for Ferrari
How much could the new asphalt at Monza influence performance, particularly if conditions differ between practice and the race?
“If it wasn’t going to rain, I would be able to give you an answer more easily. It looks as though it will rain today and tomorrow, and that we will go straight into qualifying and the race in dry conditions: “Obviously, it is a different asphalt surface, but it is the same for everyone. Something will certainly change because the surface is different.
“It is a shame that we won’t be able to test it beforehand, but it won’t represent either an advantage or a disadvantage for anyone. We are all starting on equal terms. We will also have to be quick during the race in understanding how to manage the car. As for the rain, we will have wet conditions during the first three free practice sessions, followed by qualifying and the race in the dry. These are therefore two completely different situations that we will gradually discover over the course of the weekend.”
Antonello Coletta praises Toyota’s dominance and warns of winter work ahead
Did you expect Toyota to be so competitive?
“We expected Toyota to be competitive, but frankly we were very surprised, particularly at Barcelona.
“I have to be honest: it was a race in which there were effectively two separate races taking place. Toyota were competing in one, and everyone else was competing in another: “Full credit to them, absolutely. But if we look at the season, they also had an excellent Le Mans, which they obviously won.
“Even before the race, we had said that, in our opinion, Toyota were the favourites, but almost nobody believed us. In the end, they won because they came to the fore at the right moment and secured the result. At Barcelona, I think we truly saw the level of performance their car is capable of, and it is extremely significant. To be fair, they deserved the title because they were the best. Certainly, we have some homework to do over the holidays, and I think the same applies to everyone else.”
Ferrari’s attention is consequently turning towards the work required to close the gap next season. The upcoming evolution of the 499P is expected to play a central role in that effort, with development work focusing on low-speed balance and cooling improvements as the manufacturer prepares its next WEC challenge.
Ferrari faces growing competition to retain its best endurance racing personnel
How much has the team changed over these four years, and in what ways?
“The team hasn’t changed enormously. Obviously, as happens in every organisation, whether it is a racing team or a group of people working in an office, there is always an evolution.
“Things change, some people have moved on, and others will continue to do so, because people come and go and you identify positions that need strengthening. There is a market, because you have to consider how many manufacturers have entered the championship from 2023 to today. Each of them, as I think is perfectly normal, tries to attract key personnel from other teams. There is therefore a very active market involving engineers, mechanics, drivers and other personnel. We have also been targeted heavily. We knew it would happen and expected it, and we are looking around ourselves as well. This is an activity that never ends. A team is never frozen in place, and it never will be, just as that is the case for everyone else. The important thing is to keep evolving rather than going backwards, which is not something you can take for granted, precisely because other teams are trying to take your best people away. They certainly aren’t coming after the least capable members of your staff.”
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