will head into the 2026 World Endurance Championship with small updates to its title-winning 499P Le Mans Hypercar.
Though the Italian producer has opted towards utilizing any further evo jokers from the 5 obtainable to it throughout the preliminary five-year lifecycle of the automotive, it’s making minor revisions to the aerodynamics of its LMH prototype because it bids for a fourth consecutive win on the Le Mans 24 Hours.
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The choice to replace the aero of the 499P follows the WEC’s swap from Sauber to the Windshear wind tunnel in North Carolina, requiring all producers to re-homologate their vehicles within the US. A extra substantial improve to the automotive will observe in 2027, when the 499P enters its fifth season in competitors.
“We tried to benefit from this chance [of a new wind tunnel] to tweak a couple of issues, however we most popular to take action with out making any main adjustments, so with out enjoying any jokers, despite the fact that they had been obtainable beneath the rules,” Ferrari’s head of endurance Ferdinando Cannizzo mentioned at an occasion in Maranello.
“We needed to provide continuity to the work we’re doing and give you way more vital adjustments within the following season [2027], through which we are going to make built-in adjustments, i.e. we are going to attempt to see one thing that’s designed from a 360-degree perspective and never simply to optimise a single space, on this case solely aerodynamics.”
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The aero tweaks Ferrari has deliberate for 2026 will assist it stave off rising competitors in Hypercar, when Genesis enters the championship with the GMR-001 and several other incumbents, together with Cadillac, BMW, and Toyota, introduce considerably overhauled vehicles.
The aero changes will coincide with the introduction of Michelin’s new slick tyre produced from 50% sustainable supplies.
Concentrate on reliability#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi
#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi
Ferrari pressured {that a} key objective for 2026 is to enhance the reliability of the 499P after an advanced Le Mans look through which each its factory-entered vehicles had been hit by technical points.
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“If there’s a weak level, it’s that one side we should not quit on – reliability. I believe it is likely one of the vital areas for enchancment to deal with, additionally as a result of the sooner we go, the extra we will exploit the automotive and the extra reliability points come to the fore, as a result of we’re placing increasingly stress on the techniques,” Cannizzo mentioned.
“After we encounter reliability points, we all know that we’re actually on the restrict, so we’ve to suppose forward and construct in very excessive security margins each time we design the automotive. So I believe that is the world for enchancment – I would not name it a weak spot, however it’s undoubtedly an vital space for enchancment.”
Cannizzo pointed to Toyota’s spectacular restoration in 2025 as proof that Ferrari wants to boost its sport on the reliability entrance subsequent season.
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“This season has demonstrated one basic factor: Toyota, which began with some difficulties however completed all of the races, then completed second within the championship, just by scoring a one-two within the final race [Bahrain],” he mentioned.
“They suffered rather a lot, however they nonetheless completed in second place, and that is the results of the consistency of the outcomes they managed to realize, so we’ve to do the identical factor.
“We need to speak about extra complete enhancements, wanting additionally on the workforce, consideration to element and the way we carry out in races is likely one of the elements that all the time must be taken care of, as a result of this 12 months we misplaced a number of seconds because of errors or penalties, and that is one thing that, given the continually rising degree of total competitiveness, we can’t afford.”
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#50 Ferrari Af Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen, #51 Ferrari Af Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi
#50 Ferrari Af Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen, #51 Ferrari Af Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi
Growth within the Hypercar class is closely restricted, with groups solely allowed a restricted variety of upgrades to their vehicles. Additional, every producer is required to hunt permission from the rulemakers the FIA and the Car Membership de l’Ouest to make use of an evo joker on their automotive.
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Since its Hypercar debut, the one time Ferrari deployed an evo joker was after Le Mans 2024, when it up to date the brake techniques on the 499P. However whereas Ferrari has largely kept away from making main adjustments to its prototype, Cannizzo revealed that it has continually been refining the automotive in a number of areas for total enchancment.
“The automotive nonetheless has many hidden areas that have to be explored with a variety of persistence,” he defined. “Once I say hidden areas, I am referring to the wide selection of changes we’ve within the automotive, as a result of typically we do not realise what we will do, just by altering the shock absorbers slightly than the suspension from mushy to exhausting, combining shock absorbers with much less or extra damping, with floor clearance, with aerodynamic traits, with tyre temperature or with the selection of the best compound.
“There are such a lot of variables that understanding learn how to mix them in the best means for every circuit shouldn’t be straightforward. That is the work that has stored us busy through the years, with a very new automotive that we too have realized to know in all its secrets and techniques, race after race.
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“It’s clear that it’s tough to realize vital enhancements on a automotive the place little could be modified, however we’ve seen that with this strategy we’ve managed to enormously improve the efficiency of this automotive this season with out altering something when it comes to parts, however in actuality, we’ve modified rather a lot in how we’ve introduced the automotive in every race.”
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