Ferrari made the most of a ‘risky’ strategy to reach the rostrum in the Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo earlier this month, around a circuit where the 499P Hypercar had never previously taken the chequered flag higher than fifth – leaving the defending world champions ‘full of confidence’ going into the second half of the season.
Ahead of the event – round four of the FIA World Endurance Championship campaign, and the final outing before the annual summer break – the Autódromo José Carlos Pace was one of just two venues on the current calendar at which the 499P had not achieved a podium finish. Sixth and 11th positions on the grid for the pair of scarlet factory cars – sandwiching the independent AF Corse entry in tenth – marked an immediate step forward.
In the hands of Miguel Molina, the #50 Italian prototype made a bright start to the race, but a drive-through penalty for the Spaniard due to a Full Course Yellow infringement subsequently compromised the crew’s chances and turned the afternoon into a recovery effort.
Team-mates Nicklas Nielsen and Antonio Fuoco had climbed back as far as fifth when a coming-together with Robin Frijns’ BMW with only ten minutes remaining – for which the Dutchman received a five-second penalty – sent the Ferrari into a spin and down to seventh in the final classification.
“It was quite a difficult race for us,” rued the Dane, who drove during the middle two hours. “The positive aspect was the significant progress we saw with the car compared to last year. The result was not what we had hoped for and, unfortunately, difficult days do happen, but now our focus shifts to the next race, where we are aiming to bounce back.”
The #83 entry lost ground due to a brace of penalties as well as a clash that caused lasting damage to its front splitter and performance, but nevertheless wound up fifth, while from the furthest back on the grid, it was the 2025 title-winning #51 Ferrari that shone brightest for the Prancing Horse.
Almost imperceptibly at first, Antonio Giovinazzi, Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado worked their way stealthily through the field and up into the fight for silverware, enjoying a largely clean run while rivals encountered drama. The only blot on the crew’s copybook was a mistake by the latter as the race entered its fifth hour, when contact with the pit exit barrier on cold tyres saw the best-placed 499P collect some of the circuit advertising.
Despite that brief delay, Calado went on to cross the finish line second, a mere 2.254 seconds shy of victory to equal the trio’s best result of their title-defending campaign to-date – elevating them to fourth in the chase for the Drivers’ crown.
“We never expected to finish on the podium [in São Paulo] – nobody would have expected that – and to have done so with a race executed almost perfectly is something of which we can be proud,” reflected the Brit. “It is also an excellent result for the world championship standings. Next, we head to Austin, where we know we can be competitive, so we need to continue to do our very best and keep fighting, because we have seen that this approach pays off.”
Giovinazzi similarly hailed the performance as ‘fantastic’ and ‘something extraordinary’ given the Maranello-based marque’s traditional struggles at Interlagos – sentiments echoed by countryman, Pier Guidi.
“In the run-up to the event, predicting a second-place finish would have been very difficult,” mused the Italian. “We were more competitive than in previous seasons, but I would never have expected to finish this high up the order.
“We did the best we possibly could, and the team was perfect from a strategic point-of-view. Having clear track is essential [in São Paulo], and putting ourselves in a position where we could show our true pace was the key to climbing onto the podium. It was an outstanding team effort that leaves us full of confidence, because this was one of the circuits where we did not expect to score many points.”
“We did a great job as a team,” added Ferdinando Cannizzo, Ferrari Head of Endurance Race Cars. “The effort put into thoroughly analysing last year’s race and understanding how to improve our cars on a circuit that is always one of the most difficult for us paid off for everyone.
“The drivers did very well and reliability was impeccable, as were the set-up, energy management and execution during the various phases of the race. We managed to bring our cars – which started further back on the grid – into the leading positions, exploiting the 499P’s performance and a strategy that was quite risky but always calculated to fight for the podium.”
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