Ferrari Expects “Very Hard” Task to Battle Toyota at Fuji

Ferrari expects that it will be “very hard” to beat Toyota Gazoo Racing in dry conditions in this weekend’s six-hour FIA World Endurance Championship round at Fuji Speedway.

After denying Toyota a sixth consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans victory in June, Ferrari finished second to the Japanese marque at Monza and now faces an uphill task to capture the Hypercar world drivers’ title.

Ferrari declined to take media questions after Toyota’s victory at Monza and it’s understood that this was due to dissatisfaction at the Balance of Performance in Hypercar.

At Fuji, Ferrari’s global head of endurance racing Antonello Coletta wouldn’t specifically mention the BoP, which is locked in for the final three races except for a possible adjustment between the LMDh and LMH platforms.

However, he acknowledged that Ferrari anticipates it to be a challenge if dry weather conditions prevail.

Friday’s second Free Practice session took place without rain and Toyota banked a one-two result courtesy of Sebastien Buemi and Kamui Kobayashi.

Fuji is also historically a favorable circuit for Toyota, which has won all but one of the nine modern-era WEC races held at the Japanese circuit.

“In Monza, we didn’t have a chance to battle [for the] win, and here it will be complicated,” Coletta told Sportscar365.

“But we will have our aims and the values can change. In normal conditions, I believe it will be very hard.

“We think that Toyota is the favorite, as usual, and from our side, we [target] to be in front of all, but frankly speaking we think it will be very hard.

“Our dream is to stay in the [championship] game at the end of the last lap of the last race. I’m not sure that will be possible.

He added: “Probably the only chance is to have rain here. In Bahrain, I think that is very complicated…

“Frankly speaking, our dream is to arrive in Bahrain with the situation open. I haven’t got a glass ball, but I can hope to have a good race here. Then we will see in Bahrain.

“If we finish the championship here, Bahrain will just be a holiday race for all of us in the Middle East. To have seven races, and finish [with a] world champion after six, it is clear that we need to change some issues.”

The highest-placed Ferrari crew of James Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Antonio Giovinazzi sits 23 points behind the championship-leading Toyota lineup, and Calado recently said that his car will need to have luck on its side to overcome the deficit.

“It is clear that apart from Le Mans… all the manufacturers had a chance to stay at the head of the race,” added Coletta.

“All the other races have been completely different. The first three races were won by Toyota. At Le Mans, we won. Then Toyota won another time, and we will see here and in Bahrain.

“Probably we need to reflect on the concept. It’s normal during the first year, probably, that it’s completely new for all of us. For the manufacturers, the federation, the promoter.

“But in 2024 we need to be very consistent because other manufacturers are coming and the fight will be very high.

“The best spectacle for the championship is that it will be a very strong battle with more and more competitors that have a chance to win.”

One area in which Toyota has gained an edge over its Hypercar rivals is the consistency of its pace over the course of a double stint on Michelin slick tires.

“We were trying to compensate [at Monza],” assessed Miguel Molina, who finished second in the last race sharing the No. 50 car with Antonio Fuoco and Nicklas Nielsen.

“We were pushing every time to try to catch them and be in front of them in the initial part of the race. We were suffering on this, because we could not manage the tires so well.

“But at the end, we need to keep in mind that it’s our first year with the car and we have so many things to explore, on the setup and a lot of things.

“That’s also part of the game, to keep going and progressing. And at the end, we are already there but with a lot of work to do.”