Bad news for Ferrari: the car with starting number 50 failed the technical inspection after the 24 Hours of Le Mans. As a result, the race car has been disqualified and removed from the results. According to the stewards, the rear wing of the car bent more than allowed. This also makes flexible wings a topic of discussion in the World Endurance Championship. It’s a small consolation for Dutch driver Nyck de Vries. His Toyota team moves up one place due to the disqualification, finishing fifth.
Ferrari lined up with three cars at the start of Le Mans, and also secured three of the first four finishing places. The #50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P was the lowest ranked of the three, but more than a day after the end of the endurance race, it has become clear that Ferrari cannot retain this finishing place. The car of drivers Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, and Nicklas Nielsen failed the technical inspection, and has therefore been removed from the results of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The disqualification was due to issues with the Hypercar’s rear wing. According to the stewards, it bent too far, as much as 52 millimeters, while only 15 millimeters is allowed. Additionally, four screws were missing from the rear wing, even though they were present when the Hypercar was initially inspected. The other two Ferrari cars passed the inspection and thus retain their first and third places. The Ferrari disqualification is advantageous for several teams, including the Toyota team with Dutch driver Nyck de Vries, who, along with his teammates, now ranks fifth.
Ferrari Accepts Decision
Ferrari will not appeal the stewards’ decision. “Although surprised by the decision, Ferrari reaffirms its complete trust in the professionalism and integrity of its team, in the actions taken, and in its respect for the regulations of the FIA World Endurance Championship,” reads the official statement.
“With the utmost confidence in these same rules, despite the fact that the incident in question did not provide a competitive advantage to the crew, nor did it endanger the safety of our drivers or that of other competitors, Ferrari is already working towards the next rounds of a season that will resume under the global spotlight in Brazil in July.” The next stop in the World Endurance Championship is the 6 Hours of São Paulo on July 13th.
