Le Mans 24 Hours winner James Calado has signed a multi-year contract extension with Ferrari ranging from subsequent season’s World Endurance Championship.
The 36-year-old’s deal was introduced on Friday forward of subsequent week’s WEC 2025 finale in Bahrain, the place Calado will arrive main the standings with Antonio Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi.
It should additional prolong a keep at Ferrari that started in 2014 for Calado and has yielded three GTE Professional titles within the WEC, in addition to general victory within the centenary version of Le Mans in 2023 with the 499P Le Mans Hypercar.
This comes after hypothesis that the Briton might depart the Prancing Horse to hitch one of many new manufacturers coming into the WEC over the subsequent two years.
The announcement of Calado’s deal suggests Ferrari will head into its 2026 Hypercar marketing campaign within the WEC with an unchanged, or largely unchanged, driver line-up throughout the 2 manufacturing facility 499Ps.
5 of the six drivers of the AF Corse-run manufacturing facility Hypercar squad are recognized to have contracts protecting subsequent yr. Giovinazzi and Nicklas Nielsen signed new offers in July and September respectively.
#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi
Photograph by: FIAWEC – DPPI
Nielsen’s team-mates Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina agreed new multi-year extensions to their time at Ferrari on the finish of 2024. That leaves Ferrari stalwart Pier Guidi, the oldest of its Hypercar squad at 41: his final contract extension was introduced in January 2024 for an undisclosed interval.
Ferrari sportscar boss Antonello Coletta revealed at Le Mans in June that the steadiness of a driver roster that has remained unchanged for the reason that 499P programme started in 2023 had been key to its success.
“There isn’t any intention to vary anyone, so I hope that we will hold the identical staff for the subsequent seasons,” he stated. “For us, stability of drivers is one thing that’s really elementary – it is one of many pillars on which we supply out our sporting exercise.”
Ferrari historically proclaims contract renewals with out being particular on the driving force’s programme for the next yr, which was the case within the Calado assertion.
“I’m extraordinarily completely satisfied to stay within the Ferrari household as an official driver,” stated Calado. “I’ve achieved many successes with the Prancing Horse in recent times, and I am satisfied that collectively we will obtain nice issues sooner or later.
“There’s been a number of hypothesis these days about what I’d do subsequent: in actuality, my solely want was to proceed racing for Ferrari.”
Coletta added: “We’re completely satisfied to have the ability to depend on a fast and dependable driver like James, who has made a sporting title for himself inside the Ferrari household.”
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