Customer AF Corse Ferrari 499P Lineup Confirmed

Robert Shwartzman and Yifei Ye will join Robert Kubica to form the driver lineup for AF Corse’s customer Ferrari 499P Hypercar in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

The three drivers will pilot the No. 83 car in WEC’s 19-car Hypercar class, with Kubica initially confirmed when the series released its provisional season entry list last year.

Shwartzman will be making his series debut and is set for his first race appearances in top-class machinery, having raced a Ferrari 296 GT3 with AF Corse in Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup in 2023.

He first sampled Ferrari’s LMH offering in the Bahrain rookie test in November and came on out on top as the fastest rookie of the day, which came after he won the Endurance Cup season finale in Barcelona.

“I am very happy to debut in the FIA WEC with the Ferrari 499P of AF Corse together with Robert and Yifei,” Shwartzman said.

“We are feeling confident and ambitious. Confident about the job we will do with the team, and ambitious about the results we want to achieve this year.

“We will have little time and many things to focus on, but I will give my best to adapt to the car, to the team and everything as fast as possible.

“I am confident that the season will be positive and I am really motivated to get good results, with the ambition to win the world title.

“There is a race that I am especially looking forward to, however, and that is the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It is a race that has always been in my dreams and I will do everything possible to try to win – I will give my all to do so.”

Ye, meanwhile, lines up aboard the No. 83 car after joining Ferrari following a debut season in the Hypercar class with Hertz Team JOTA and their Porsche 963.

“It is truly a privilege to be named as one of the drivers in the 83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P,” the Chinese driver said.

“AF Corse has achieved enormous success across different championships in endurance racing and I’m super excited to start my role of official Ferrari driver with them in the World Endurance Championship and in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“Last year the competition was already extremely stiff and this year, with 19 hypercars, it will be even more fierce but, looking at the performance of the team in 2023, I have no doubt that we will be competitive.

“Together with my two new team-mates, we have experience, speed and youth. I can’t wait to get my first taste of the 499P and start the preparation for the new season that is coming very quickly, but we will be ready to fight for the podium and victory, hopefully right from the first race in Qatar.”

The WEC season kicks off with the Qatar 1812km on March 2.