If his two AF Corse team-mates carved out their own little piece of history in winning last weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans (14-15 June), Philip Hanson similarly cemented his place in the record books in France – despite a distinctly nervy ending to the race...
Alongside stablemates Robert Kubica and Yifei Ye, Hanson played a key role in delivering Ferrari its third consecutive Le Mans victory with the all-conquering 499P Hypercar. In just his second season in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s top-tier since stepping up from LMP2, the result made the 25-year-old the first driver to triumph at La Sarthe in both of the current major prototype classes.
Hanson’s seventh career success in the series – and first in almost four years – also made him only the fifth Brit to conquer Le Mans outright since the FIA WEC era began in 2012, following in the wheeltracks of compatriots Allan McNish, Nick Tandy, Mike Conway and James Calado.
“Sunday was a very special day,” he acknowledged. “I’m truly grateful to all the mechanics, engineers and every AF Corse and Ferrari team member who gave it everything to achieve this result – and of course, it goes without saying, my fantastic team-mates.”
Hanson has risen through the ranks in endurance racing from a teenage rookie to a Le Mans winner in only nine years. He was competing against Kubica and Ye in the race’s LMP2 category in 2021 when a throttle sensor failure cruelly denied the pair and Louis Délétraz victory on the final lap.
With that on his mind as he waited for the Pole to reach the chequered flag four years on, he admitted he was not in the mood to take anything for granted, particularly with the #83 Ferrari suffering from some late gearbox gremlins.
“I know Le Mans can break your heart at the last possible moment, so I wasn’t going to celebrate or let anything out until the car physically crossed the line,” revealed the Berkshire-born ace. “It was just relief at the end, to be honest.”
He then added, with a glint in his eye: “Plus, the last time these two (Kubica and Ye) raced together at Le Mans, they had that issue, so I almost thought they were a little bit jinxed...”
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