Nielsen: Ferrari Win “A Bit Lucky” After Late-Race Toyota Blow

Photo: Fabrizio Boldoni/DPPI

Nicklas Nielsen admitted they were “a bit lucky” to have come out on top in Sunday’s 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas following late-race misfortune for the leading Toyota TR010 Hybrid.

Nielsen and Ferrari AF Corse co-drivers Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina claimed their first FIA World Endurance Championship victory since last year’s season-opening Qatar 1812km, in a race that saw the No. 50 Ferrari 499P also benefit at the race’s mid-point.

An off-strategy call by short-fulling the Ferrari in the second hour put Molina out front, in a move that was aimed to try and take manufacturer points away from Toyota.

“What we did after was just to cover the Toyota,” he explained. “We compromised a bit our race at that moment but we had to also look forward for the championship, especially for the constructor’s championship, and that was our aim, to stay in front of the Toyota.

“At the same time, we were in quite free air so we could push and also put us in a position where it was not so bad, but always risking with this eight to ten laps exposed to a safety car and all of these kind of things where you can lose a lot.”

However, a mid-race Virtual Safety Car-turned safety car period reset diverging strategies through the entire 17-car Hypercar field and put the No. 50 Ferrari back on equal terms.

“The only thing we could basically do after the beginning of the race was basically just to push,” said Nielsen. “We knew it was going to be difficult to fight Toyota.

“I managed to do some lap times that were a bit faster but then eventually he leveled that pretty quickly.”

However, the No. 7 Toyota of Nyck de Vries suffered a hydraulic problem while in the lead with just 12 minutes to go, which handed the win to the Dane.

“They had an issue and we were a bit lucky there to be honest,” said Nielsen. “But on the other hand, it’s been a long time coming and I think did a fantastic job today all around.

“It was not an easy race. I’m really happy for all of us and proud of the team. It didn’t seem like it was going to be our day but it ended up being.”

Adding a further potential wrinkle was the fact that Charles Milesi, in the then-second placed No. 35 Alpine A424, was closing in on Nielsen in the final laps, although the Frenchman was facing a five-second post-race time penalty for an unsafe pit release.

“[My engineer] told me with three laps to go,” said Nielsen. “I managed to pass him during traffic and I pulled a gap and I tried to manage that.

“When I saw that he catching [me], I tried to slow it a bit down, not to overcook the tires.

“Once he started to go a bit closer again, I started to push. It was a bit like a boomerang effect.

“Then obviously when I knew he had an investigation and probably a five-second penalty, it was a bit easier.

“But on the other hand, I wasn’t going to let him pass and finish second at the end of the race. I wanted to cross the line first.”

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