Hanson Felt No. 83 Ferrari Win Chance “Too Good to Be True”

AF Corse driver Phil Hanson admits he had “written off” any chance of success in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans as he felt the idea of Ferrari winning the event for a third year in a row with its customer No. 83 car was “too good to be true.”

Hanson and his teammates in the satellite third Ferrari 499P, Robert Kubica and Yifei Ye, delivered the Italian manufacturer victory in the FIA World Endurance Championship blue riband earlier this month, overcoming a late challenge from Porsche.

Looking back on the lead-up to the race speaking to selected media, including Sportscar365, Hanson said it was during the pre-event test day that he began to believe that a victory bid could be on the cards based on the pace shown by the No. 83 car.

“When I was in the car at the very beginning on new tires, I think I had purple sector one, my sector two was very strong and I had traffic in my third sector,” recalled Hanson. “At that point my theoretical would have put me joint-fastest in that session.

“I assumed people were hiding, playing games, that not everyone was showing their hand. But I also knew where we were on the first run, with a full tank, and I thought, ‘ok, it’s looking good’ — better that than doing a good lap and being last!

“But it wasn’t until the end of the test day that I actually thought that, even if people are not going flat out, there’s a bit of margin here. My girlfriend called me to ask how it was all going, and I told her, ‘I think there’s a chance we could win this’.

“Before that, having seen Ferrari’s success in the first few rounds [of the WEC season], I’d almost written off Le Mans this year.

“I thought there was no way that Ferrari would win it three years in a row, or that the third car would win it in the third year. That would be way too good to be true!”

Hanson’s first overall win at Le Mans follows previous success in the French classic in the LMP2 class with United Autosports in 2020 as a Silver-graded driver.

The 25-year-old stuck with United after being upgraded to Gold status until the end of 2023, when he moved to Hertz Team JOTA to drive a customer Porsche 963 last season, prior to his move to AF Corse to replace IndyCar-bound Robert Shwartzman.

“It’s a dream feeling,” Hanson added. “I know how tough Le Mans can be and how it ‘chooses’ its winners. There are so many situations out of your control.

“My teammates, the car, everything worked well. We had a very strong package, we were quick throughout the race, and even after the setback of the safety car when we had a comfortable lead, we were able to recover and get back into the lead.

“There was misfortune for others, but no different from the safety car affecting our race.”

Securing the double-points victory at Le Mans has propelled Hanson, Kubica and Ye to second in the WEC drivers’ standings, 16 points behind the No. 51 Ferrari crew of James Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Antonio Giovinazzi.

“It’s going to be tough,” Hanson said of his and his co-drivers’ title chances. “But it’s not impossible. We won Le Mans, so anything is possible at this point.

“The next races will be important and interesting to see how competitive we can be. We’ll just try and maximize the points and try to finish as high as possible because the objective now will be to win the championship, which is no easy task.

“Winning Le Mans is one thing, fighting for the championship is another. Quite often the winners of Le Mans go on to win the championship but not always, as you’ve seen in the last two years with Ferrari winning Le Mans.

“We’re in a good place, but we need to put it all together.”

Hanson Eyes Long-Term Factory Hypercar Deal

Having conquered Le Mans, Hanson admitted that his attention is now turning to securing his future in the top class of the WEC with a full manufacturer deal.

The Briton has so far only driven for customer teams since stepping up from LMP2, first Hertz Team JOTA and now AF Corse, and while he said he is in no rush to move on from the No. 83 car, he says that stepping up to being a full works driver is a target, especially with the influx of new Hypercar entrants joining the WEC in the next two years.

“That’s the next step for me, to get in a position to have a long-term commitment with a manufacturer,” said Hanson when asked about his future by Sportscar365.

“I am not ruling anything out. The Ferrari is still an incredibly competitive package, so I don’t necessarily see myself somewhere else next year.

“But at the same time I am looking at all opportunities with a blank piece of paper to be in the most competitive situation possible for the medium- and long-term. That’s the key.”