Ferrari: Blackest day since WEC return

Two weeks after the victory in Austin, Ferrari experienced its darkest day in Fuji since returning to the WEC in 2023. The best-placed of the three 499P cars in the form of Le Mans winners Antonio Fuoco/Miguel Molina/Nicklas Nielsen only managed ninth place in the penultimate race of the season. The sister car with starting number #51 (Giovinazzi/Pier Guidi/Calado) retired 45 laps before the end due to consequential damage caused by Robert Kubica in the yellow AF Corse Ferrari at the start.

The 6-hour race in Japan started very badly for the Italians. Kubica, who had started from 13th place, saw no gap at the beginning of the second lap and rammed the #5 Porsche 963 into the rear with a lot of momentum. Fred Makowiecki was thrown by the powerful impact into the car in front of him, Antonio Giovinazzi, who also hit Ferdinand Habsburg's Alpine in the collision.

Heavy penalty for crash pilot Robert Kubica after quadruple crash

Race control identified the former Formula 1 driver from Poland as the culprit and gave him a 30-second pit stop penalty. Kubica had already received this punishment once this year when he collided with BMW driver Dries Vanthoor at 300 km/h during the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Now came the Fuji incident for Kubica, who had surprisingly won the previous race in Austin with his AF Corse teammates Robert Shartzman and Yifei Ye, giving Ferrari its first WEC victory outside of Le Mans. Kubica had to make a pit stop for repairs with his damaged 499P, just like Giovinazzi.

While the race was practically over for two of the three Ferraris, the last hopes rested on the #50. Because the pure pace was not enough to bring the car forward, Ferrari's strategies were creative: From the 43rd lap, Nicklas Nielsen took over for starting driver Miguel Molina, who was not to return to the cockpit.

During the Dane's pit stop on lap 51 during a Virtual Safety Car, Ferrari decided to send him back on the track with four fresh medium tires, while most of their competitors only had new Michelins fitted on the left side due to the regulatory tire shortage.

Ferrari leads Fuji race at halftime

The tire advantage brought Nielsen in the Ferrari, which had started from P7, quickly overtook both Toyotas to fourth position. The 27-year-old even managed to take the lead halfway through the race after his second pit stop (lap 93). With cold tires, Nielsen initially successfully defended himself against pursuer Andre Lotterer in the eventual winner #6 Porsche, before teammate Antonio Fuoco also began a triple stint from the 134th lap.

After that, things went downhill, but this was not due to the fast Italian's performance, but to the third safety car phase of the race (lap 153). At the time of neutralization, Fuoco was in fifth place before he was pushed back in the next “final sprint” lasting 90 minutes. The safety car had nullified Ferrari's time.

Ferrari manager: “Everyone else could easily overtake us”

“The last safety car was unfortunate,” Ferrari's endurance racing director Ferdinando Cannizzo was quoted as saying by Sportscar365. “We had roughly the same tires as the others. But the gap we had previously maintained was taken away from us. When the last safety car brought the field together, it was impossible for us to defend the position. With the power-to-drag and downforce-to-weight ratio we have, all the other cars could easily overtake us.

In Fuji, Ferrari struggled with the speed on the 1.5-kilometer-long endless straight, although it was better overall than last year's guest appearance on the former Formula 1 circuit. The Reds experienced their next race in 2023, finishing fourth and fifth, missing out on a podium place for the only time this season.

Cannizzo, who believed that fourth place would have been possible for the #50 without the safety car: “Compared to last year, the car performed very well. Last year we had problems in all conditions. This year we were on point. I think we were the best in the first sector. But in the second sector and on the straights we lacked performance.

Ferrari leaves Fuji with a “bitter aftertaste”.

Meanwhile, Ferrari sports car boss Antonello Coletta was gnawing at the start collision that cost two of the three 499Ps a better result: “Unfortunately, we are not used to commenting on such a result, given the potential of the car and after having experienced a race.” “The strategy, the pit stops, the tire management and the drivers' performance on the track were flawless. We did everything in our power to fight for the podium and not achieving it leaves a bitter taste.”

This is all the more bitter because the title chances of the #50 Ferrari have been reduced to a minimum after finishing ninth. Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen remain second overall in the World Championship table, but their deficit to the Porsche trio Andre Lotterer, Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor has grown to 35 points. At the season finale in Bahrain (November 2nd) 39 points will still be up for grabs. In the manufacturers' rankings, Ferrari is in third place, 27 points behind leader Porsche and 17 points behind Toyota.

The only bright spot: In the LMGT3 class, AF Corse celebrated the first victory of a Ferrari 296 GT3 by Davide Rigon, Francesco Castellacci and Thomas Flohr after the debut pole. The #92 Manthey-Porsche 911 GT3 R (Klaus Bachler/Joel Sturm/Alex Malykhin) took second place and thus secured the world championship early.