WEC, Ferrari realistic: at Fuji the goal is to score points
Antonio Giovinazzi could not go beyond sixth place on the grid, Robert Kubica will start tenth with the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P, and Antonio Fuoco was eliminated in the first qualifying session, ending up 15th. At Maranello, the team knows that racing in Japan will be difficult, but the focus is entirely on the main objective: collecting points to keep the title hopes alive.
Ferrari’s approach to the 6 Hours of Fuji is clear — the goal is to bring home as many points as possible in the FIA World Endurance Championship and continue the chase for both the drivers’ and teams’ titles.
Qualifying confirms Ferrari struggles at Fuji
Qualifying for the sixth round of the 2025 WEC season confirmed what many expected: the Ferrari 499P struggles on the Japanese circuit, particularly in the third sector. Antonio Giovinazzi and Antonio Fuoco did their best to extract performance, while Robert Kubica also pushed hard with the Giallo Modena #83 AF Corse entry. The team prefers to see the glass half full after a challenging Saturday.
The best result came from Giovinazzi, who secured sixth on the grid. He will need to focus on keeping the Porsche cars behind, while the Cadillacs in front appear out of reach. Considering that Giovinazzi, alongside James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi, must defend the lead in the drivers’ standings, his tone after qualifying was more positive compared to Friday’s free practice sessions.
“It was a positive qualifying session compared to the difficulties we had in practice: this is the best result we could achieve,” said Giovinazzi, who had also been concerned about the lack of straight-line speed in his #51 Ferrari 499P. “The starting position is good and our race pace is stronger than our one-lap pace, so the goal for tomorrow is to stay in the points and, if possible, gain a few positions.”
Kubica and Fuoco face uphill battle
Kubica ended qualifying in tenth, while Fuoco’s day was even more difficult. The Calabrian driver finished 15th after a tricky opening session, missing out on advancing to Hyperpole by just a few tenths and effectively being taken out of contention early.
“We expected a tough qualifying and that’s exactly how it went. To make it into Hyperpole we needed a perfect lap and a bit of luck with traffic, but both conditions were missing,” admitted Fuoco, who will share the #50 Ferrari with Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen. “Unfortunately, on my final attempt I also made a small mistake, which was enough to prevent us from moving on. Tomorrow’s race will also be complicated, but we’ll try to fight back and secure important points for the championship.”
Nielsen cautious ahead of the race
Nicklas Nielsen did not hide his concerns about the challenge ahead. Starting deep in the midfield, the Dane acknowledged that even from further up the grid, Ferrari would still be struggling to maintain track position.
“Even if we were starting near the front, we would still have difficulties holding position. It will also be tough to overtake, so we’ll see how we manage, but it’s going to be a big challenge, as we’ve already seen in previous years,” Nielsen explained after free practice, as reported by Italian-Endurance. “The third sector is very slow and traction is key. We lose a lot of time there, and it compromises acceleration onto the straight and, as a result, the first sector as well. In any case, we’ll fight to get the maximum out of the car.”
With Ferrari aware of its limitations at Fuji, the priority remains clear: focus on consistency, score as many points as possible, and keep the championship fight alive as the season approaches its final stretch.
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