Ferrari Remains “Prudent” Despite Taking Le Mans Pole

Ferrari AF Corse remains “prudent” despite sweeping the front row of the grid for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, according to its global head of endurance racing Antonello Coletta.

Coletta told reporters after Hyperpole that it was an “unbelievable moment” to take a first-time Le Mans pole with the Ferrari 499P but described it as only the “first step” in a broader quest.

Antonio Fuoco’s 3:22.982 lap time yielded the Italian manufacturer’s second pole out of four FIA World Endurance Championship rounds this season, although defending Le Mans winner Toyota Gazoo Racing has been undefeated in the races so far.

“It’s an unbelievable moment,” said Coletta. “After just a little number of months [for testing] and work, we gained the first line of the [grid for the] most iconic race in the world.

“We enjoy the moment because the work of our staff, mechanics, technicians, logistics and sporting team is really impressive. Finally, our drivers that are very, very consistent.

“The first race was with the pole position at Sebring. And here, another time.

“I believe that our car is really consistent. Our project is very good. But we know that the situation for the race should be very different. This is just the first step of a long way.”

Coletta stressed that Ferrari should not get too carried away with its qualifying result considering the race could be “another story.”

“I believe that Toyota is OK, but the other brands are not bad [either],” he suggested.

“I’m sure that the qualifying is one matter and the race is another story. I prefer to be prudent and we will see.

“We believe that we can make a good race, but I’m sure that we need to respect Toyota. It’s more experienced than us.

“For this matter, we would like to enjoy this moment and we will see for the weekend. I hope to do the best work that we can do.”

Ferrari gave both of its qualifying drivers – Fuoco and Alessandro Pier Guidi – opportunities to receive a tow from each other during Hyperpole.

Pier Guidi beat Fuoco by eight-thousands of a second when he was receiving the tow, although Fuoco was also benefiting from the draft of a Toyota GR010 Hybrid.

Ferrari then pitted both of its cars for new Michelin tires in expectation of a Toyota improvement, after which Fuoco set the fastest lap despite encountering some traffic.

“I’m proud that we made a very good strategy for Hyperpole,” said Ferrari’s head of endurance race cars Ferdinando Cannizzo.

“We decided to go behind the Toyotas, just to take advantage of the tow. This paid [off] a lot. The cars also helped each other with giving the tow to each other.

“We were able to look forward and understand what they did. They were kind of a reference to try to improve [on]. This was fantastic for us, and I think this was the key in this Hyperpole.”

Fuoco removed two seconds from his previous-best overall lap time this week, although Ferrari didn’t have a particular lap time in mind before Hyperpole took place.

“To be honest, we didn’t expect a specific lap time,” said Cannizzo.

“What we did was just prepare the car for the best as we have learned [through] all these days.

“Antonio made one of his best laps today. I think he is also proud of himself. We are proud that we gave him a very nice car to drive. Just the first step for us.”

Red Flag Impacted Toyota’s Hyperpole Effort

A red flag period with five minutes left in Hyperpole thwarted Toyota Gazoo Racing’s chances of posting an improvement to get closer to Ferrari.

The Japanese manufacturer ended up qualifying third and fifth, either side of the No. 75 Porsche 963, after being unable to take advantage of using a second tire set.

Ferrari pitted for fresh tires before the stoppage, whereas Toyota did not.

“Not a good session for us, obviously, with several things which went wrong,” Toyota’s WEC technical director Pascal Vasselon told Sportscar365.

“When we got the red flag during our possibly fast lap, it was over. Considering the qualifying rules, we were unable to refuel and change tires.

“We had to restart with very little fuel and the same tires, so it was over.”

When asked whether he thought the red flag destroyed Toyota’s chances of beating Ferrari to the pole, Vasselon said: “The red flag means that we don’t know exactly what we could have done.

“I could not say that we would have been close to Ferrari, but we would have been better than what we have done.”