The opening round of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship is set to go down in motorsport history and in the memories of fans, thanks to a Ferrari triple on the Lusail circuit, home to the 1812 KM of Qatar. The victory was secured by Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, and Nicklas Nielsen in the number 50 499P, crossing the line ahead of the number 83 car of AF Corse, driven by Yifei Ye, Robert Kubica, and Phil Hanson. Third place went to the other official Ferrari – AF Corse crew of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, and Antonio Giovinazzi.
The Maranello manufacturer delivered the perfect race weekend, not only achieving an extraordinary result in the race but also setting the fastest lap over the course of the 10-hour competition – recorded by Pier Guidi – and securing pole position thanks to Giovinazzi. For Prancing Horse, this marked the best possible start to the third season featuring the Ferrari 499P in the top class of endurance racing.
The race. The 499P was the undisputed protagonist of the race. At the start, the number 51 car held the lead, while its sister car, the number 50, which had started third, immediately moved up to second place, setting the stage for a race that saw Ferrari dominate at the front of the field for its entire duration, with both cars consistently in command.
The 499P’s potential, combined with the drivers’ performances, perfect tyre management, and flawless team strategy, allowed Ferrari to deliver a textbook race.
Despite two drive-through penalties in the mid-section of the 1812 KM, which set back the Pier Guidi-Calado-Giovinazzi crew, they staged a perfect comeback, securing the best possible result at Lusail. As previously noted, Pier Guidi also set the fastest lap of the race with a 1’41’’259 on lap 141.
Under the floodlights of Lusail, Fuoco brought the number 50 499P across the finish line, completing 318 laps, ahead of Kubica and Pier Guidi.
The numbers. Ferrari’s overall victory tally in the FIA WEC now stands at four. The Qatar result adds to the two unforgettable triumphs at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the official team (2023 with Pier Guidi-Calado-Giovinazzi and 2024 with Fuoco-Molina-Nielsen), and the first-place finish at COTA last year, where AF Corse secured victory with the number 83 499P driven by Ye-Shwartzman-Kubica.
Historical precedents. Ferrari concludes a race in the top class of endurance racing, with three cars in the leading positions, for the first time in 53 years. The last time on the honours list dates back to 1972, the penultimate season in which the Prancing Horse competed in the top category, before its return in 2023. That year, Ferrari locked out the front of the field in a round of the World Championship for Makes, securing the top four places.
The achievement took place at the 1000 Kilometres of Österreichring, in Austria, with four crews at the wheel of the Ferrari 312 PB. The race, held on 25 June 1972 at the Spielberg circuit, saw Jacky Ickx and Brian Redman cross the finish line first, ahead of Helmut Marko and Carlos Pace, followed by Tim Schenken and Ronnie Peterson, with Arturo Merzario and Sandro Munari narrowly missing out on the podium in fourth.
Also unforgettable was the one-two-three parade finish secured five years earlier at the 1967 24 Hours of Daytona, the opening round of the World Sportscar Championship where the Ferrari 330 P3/P4 of Lorenzo Bandini and Chris Amon were first past the chequered flag, finishing ahead of the 330 P4 of Mike Parkes and Ludovico Scarfiotti, and the 412 P of Pedro Rodriguez and Jean Guichet.
The situation. Prancing Horse leaves Lusail with 66 points in the manufacturers’ standings, thanks to the pole position, which earned one point, and the race results of the number 50 and number 51 crews, who contributed 38 and 27 points, respectively.
From this season onwards, the FIA WEC regulations allow both cars to score points towards the world championship standings, whereas until 2024, only the best-placed 499P from the Ferrari – AF Corse team could earn points.
In addition to securing second place overall, the AF Corse-entered 499P celebrated victory in the FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams, collecting 38 points towards the independent teams’ standings.
The calendar. The FIA World Endurance Championship returns to action on 20 April with the 6 Hours of Imola.
