After two consecutive wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and a strong start in the WEC with three straight victories, the public sees Ferrari as the favorite—even though the drivers don’t necessarily agree, as they shared from the stage during yesterday’s Pesage, moderated by official presenter Bruno Vandestick.
Giovinazzi: “We have more experience”
“I’m very happy to be back here at Le Mans; it’s a special race and a special track. It’s always great to race here. The last two years have been great for Ferrari [and for us]; we won two years ago and last year the #51 finished on the podium.
They are good memories, but I know it will be difficult [to repeat that], for many reasons—Le Mans is a long race. But I think we started the championship quite well this year with three wins and two for the #51. So obviously the goal is to win again, but if not, scoring points for the championship will be important.”
On the question of why the #51, which didn’t win a single race in 2024, has already won two this year, a joking remark came from the other crew:
—“I trust my teammates. I think it’s experience. The first year was our first season in this championship with this car. But now we have more experience with the car, with the championship, with our teammates. So we know better how to work and I think that’s the key to why we started quite well this year with three wins already.”
Calado: “We’re working to improve”
“This race gives double points, so it’s always the one that decides who fights for the championship. But so far, as Antonio said, it’s been a good start to the season and the car is really strong. So we hope to bring that approach [also] into this race, but as we know, anything can happen.
But we’re doing our best, and as you said, we’ve had good results the past two years, but I think this year could be the most difficult ever.”
The focus then shifted to the #51 race engineer, Baptiste Allain, who returns for a second year in a row.
“He’s really French. [everyone laughs] No, but he’s great, and everyone asks us about it, because in recent years we always changed engineers—maybe it was our fault, I don’t know. Baptiste has stayed the last two years and really helped us, he’s an excellent engineer and we can only praise him. He works hard, and we have a great relationship.”
When asked if history will repeat itself, with new manufacturers like Ford pushing to beat Ferrari:
“I don’t know. Others are doing their job, we’re doing ours—and honestly, they obviously know we’re strong. During the season we’ve been strong, so they’re definitely pushing to beat us. But at the same time, we’re working hard to improve. We can’t stop working and we’ll do our best to continue this team performance and aim for more victories.”
Pier Guidi: “The season has just started”
The mic then went to Alessandro Pier Guidi, who was asked how it feels to arrive here leading the standings. The #51 is 18 points ahead of #50, 36 ahead of #83, and 38 ahead of Toyota #8.
“I don’t feel like the ‘King’; the season has just started. We’re at Le Mans, which is the most special race.
Everyone wants to win Le Mans. We’ve been lucky enough to win it once already overall, and we’ll try to do it again, but we’re also thinking about the championship. To stay ahead, we have to work hard until the end of the season, and that’s what we did over the winter and at the start of the season.
We know the others are strong and there will be a lot of competition, especially here at Le Mans.”
A fan then asked a sarcastic question: “Aren’t you bored of being paired with Calado for 8 years?” The two have one of the longest-standing partnerships in the series, dating back to the 2016 Le Mans 24 Hours.
“As long as we keep winning, we’re having fun. We have a good relationship, even off track. Since I joined Ferrari, I’ve been paired with James, and we’ve built a strong bond in the car and out of it.
I think it’s an extra boost to improve, because when you know someone that well, you know what they need, what they want. Sometimes we don’t even need to speak—we understand each other, and that’s positive for our team.”
Nielsen: “We have a great relationship”
The star of the final hours of last year’s Le Mans was clearly Nicklas Nielsen, who completed two energy-saving stints in the rain, compensating for a door issue during the third-to-last stop that allowed the #50 to win:
“If we could, we’d try to finish a few laps ahead of the others! So no, we’re not trying to create any kind of show for the fans, unfortunately.
But you know, as I said, with this race, so many things happen, and it seems like that’s always how we have to win.”
After a year, there was also time to reflect on the past victory:
“It was amazing. I mean, I think for all three of us, it was the big dream since we started racing in endurance. To win Le Mans—but also to do it overall in Hypercar and with Ferrari. And for us it was really great to win the year after the sister car—two [wins] in a row for Ferrari. Being part of a team like this is amazing. And it’s more than a team—it’s a family. Of course we race against the sister cars on track, but we all six have a great relationship. That’s also what’s really special about this team.”
Molina: “Fans aren’t pressure”
For Molina, last year’s edition was also unforgettable:
“Le Mans is a special and very tough race. When you’re in a race like this, where you fight really hard, emotions build.
As soon as we saw Nicolas cross the finish line, it was like an explosion of everything. It was a special moment. Sometimes we came very close to winning this race. When you reach a goal like this, it’s very emotional. All the work behind it and all the sacrifices you make in your career, they pay off.”
“I’d say the fans’ pressure isn’t real pressure.
The passion the Italian fans put into Ferrari is incredible. It makes us work harder and try to give back all that energy. I wouldn’t call it pressure.
I think we like it that way. We always try to do our job. The Formula 1 guys are also trying to do their job.
So, in general, we’re trying to make people happy.”
Fuoco: “Better to fight in the race than for Hyperpole”
Antonio Fuoco returned to pole position in the recent 6 Hours of Spa, but the Hyperpole at Le Mans, which he won in 2022 with a Hypercar record, isn’t at the top of the Calabrian driver’s goals:
“I mean, not really. In the race, that’s where the points are in the end. So even if we don’t make Hyperpole, I’ll be happier if we can fight in the race.
But usually, if you don’t make Hyperpole, it means the race will be hard too. So we try to do our best and then we’ll see.
As the others said, anything can happen. For sure if one of the two cars manages to fight for the win, it’s good for the team, for the constructors’ championship and also for the drivers’ championship.
But we also know this year will be really tough. Maybe even tougher than the past two years. And we just have to try to do our best and maximize the result.”
Kubica: “The biggest challenge of my career”
The Ferrari #83 AF Corse, the “big yellow one”, appeared with a yellow submarine on the roof—a clear reference to the Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine.” But after wins for the #50 and #51, will it be #83’s turn? Team veteran Robert Kubica doesn’t see it that way:
“It’s a bit simplistic to put it like that. […] It’ll be a big challenge—as always, Le Mans is a very big challenge, to reach the end and even more so to win. So first of all we need to make sure we finish, and then we’ll try to finish as high as possible.
I don’t expect an easy life from our competition. So it will be one of the biggest challenges—obviously not just of the year, but probably of my career.”
Phil Hanson: “Surprised by the 499P”
Philip Hanson’s ninth Le Mans will also be his first with the Ferrari 499P:
“My first reaction was very positive. It was really different from what I was used to last year with the Porsche.
I was pleasantly surprised by how the car has performed in the last races. But yes, it’s a very different driving style from the Porsche. So it took a bit of getting used to at first.
But there are many advantages I see in it. But inherently, it’s a very different car to drive. I’m looking forward to seeing how it feels at Le Mans.
I think these cars are designed for Le Mans, so they should feel in their best window here. And I think that’s the experience I’m most excited for tomorrow.”
Yifei Ye, the home driver
For Ye Yifei, this will be his fifth Le Mans, the second with Ferrari, and for the Xi’an-born driver—welcomed warmly by fans—this is always a special race, practically a home event:
“I’m lucky that the public loves me. Thank you. Le Mans is a city I’m very connected to.
I came here when I was 14. It’s been 11 years now. I learned to speak French here and also got my driver’s license. So [for me] it’s almost a home race.
And from a sporting perspective, racing here with Ferrari, fighting for the win, is an incredible honor. We’ve seen that Ferrari performs well; we managed to win the first three races. But we also know the competitors are very close to us. So it will be very tough, as Robert and Phil said.
But we’ll give it everything we have and see how it goes.”
Both Ye and Kubica came very close to winning LMP2 in 2021, when a throttle failure on the WRT #41 dashed their hopes just 12 km from the finish:
“The car is capable of winning. But I already learned in 2021 with Robert that even if we’re leading the race on the last lap, something can happen and stop us. So we have to be honest. And we have to stay focused until the end of the race. It will be tough—maybe rain will come like last year.
It’ll be exciting for you, the spectators.”
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