Ferrari to Introduce First 499P Updates at Interlagos

Photo: Julien Delfosse/DPPI

Ferrari will roll out its first update to the double 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning 499P at this weekend’s 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, with the Italian manufacturer confirming a redesign of the car’s brake cooling ducts.

The LMH car, which made its FIA World Endurance Championship debut last year, will also have an aerodynamic update, with the introduction of a flick under the headlights, along with a modified floor and adjustment in gurney flaps.

The changes, which its global head of endurance Antonello Coletta said have been introduced sooner than initially expected due to its position in the world championship, are understood to be the 499P’s first ‘Evo joker’ usage.

Coletta told reporters earlier this year that it would not likely deploy any updates to the car until 2025.

Ferrari, however, currently sits second in this year’s Hypercar manufacturers’ standings, with its Le Mans-winning drivers Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen and Miguel Molina also second in the drivers’ title race heading into the second half of the season.

“After the excellent result at Le Mans, the challenge at the top for the world championship titles is even wider open and, in the second leg of the season, doing our best to try and win the championship in every race will be essential,” explained Ferrari’s head of endurance race cars Ferdinando Cannizzo.

“The Interlagos circuit will see the debut of the first modifications to the 499P. Despite the car’s excellent performance in the 2023 season, we experienced limitations with brake cooling.

“Therefore, we defined and developed a new cooling duct design in the wind tunnel and on the track to change the flow distribution and deliver greater efficiency.

“The modification impacted the balance of the 499P, which we restored to the desired value by adjusting other areas of the car.

“Specifically, we modified the underbody, adjusted the heights of some ‘gurney flaps’, and introduced a ‘flick’ under the front headlights.

“The upgrade has allowed us to maintain the 499P’s position within the ‘performance window’ specified by the technical regulations.

“We don’t expect improvements in lap times, but greater versatility and easier adaptation of the car on circuits where braking performance is more demanding and decisive.”

Per WEC rules, all three 499Ps, including the satellite No. 83 entry, will be sporting the updates this weekend in Brazil.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John