At the chequered flag, the number 83 crew entered by AF Corse, featuring Ferrari official drivers Yifei Ye and Phil Hanson alongside Robert Kubica, finished fifth, while the number 50 of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen crossed the line seventh.

The race. The Brazilian circuit was expected to be one of the most challenging venues for the 499Ps due to its layout. At just 4.309 kilometres in length, the circuit features constant elevation changes and sections where overtaking is particularly difficult. Ferrari nevertheless managed to capitalise on the team’s aggressive strategies in tyre management and pit-stop sequencing, while keeping mistakes to a minimum. This approach enabled the drivers to extract the maximum from the package available.

Starting from 11th on the grid with Giovinazzi, the number 51 Ferrari 499P produced a remarkable comeback, establishing itself firmly in the battle for the top three during the final three hours. Pier Guidi, at the wheel during the middle stints, and Calado completed the job by securing the 499P’s first podium finish at the São Paulo 6 Hours.

The number 50 crew, who started from the third row with Molina, were forced to fight back from 15th after a pair of penalties in the middle stages of the race while Nielsen was at the wheel. Thanks to a determined performance, they managed to rejoin the battle for the positions just off the podium. With ten minutes remaining, while Fuoco was fighting for fifth place, contact at turn one sent the Italian into a spin. He eventually crossed the line seventh, nevertheless bringing home valuable points for the World championship standings.

The AF Corse number 83 Ferrari, which made an impressive start with Ye climbing from tenth to third, was handed over to Hanson in the middle stints and then to Kubica for the finish, with the Pole taking the chequered flag in fifth place.

The numbers. The result achieved by the number 51 trio marks the first Interlagos podium for the 499P, whose previous best result at the circuit had been fifth place in 2024 with the same drivers. Pier Guidi, Calado and Giovinazzi therefore claim their second podium finish of the season after finishing second at Imola, and Ferrari’s third, following the third-place finish secured by Fuoco, Molina and Nielsen at Spa. Since making its race debut in 2023, the Ferrari 499P has now amassed 24 podium finishes.

The situation. The results achieved by the official team’s cars allow Ferrari to score a total of 24 points in the World Manufacturers’ Championship standings; Pier Guidi, Calado and Giovinazzi add 18 points to the World Drivers’ standings, while Fuoco, Molina and Nielsen and Ye, Hanson and Kubica leave Brazil with 6 and 10 points respectively.

Next round. The FIA World Endurance Championship returns to the spotlight at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin (USA), which will host the Lone Star Le Mans on 6 September.

Nicklas Nielsen, 499P #50: “It was quite a difficult race for us. 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.”

James Calado, 499P #51: “We achieved a great result. We never expected to finish on the podium this weekend, and to have done so with a race executed almost perfectly is something we can be proud of. It is also an excellent result for the World Championship standings. Now we head to Austin, where we know we can be competitive, so we will need to maximise the result and continue to do our very best because we have seen that this approach pays off. After all, nobody would have expected to see a Ferrari finish second here in Brazil, so we must keep fighting.”

Yifei Ye, 499P #83: “We’re quite pleased to have finished in fifth place after starting tenth. I made a very good start, bringing the car up into the podium positions before handing over the cockpit to my teammates. We can be very happy with the behaviour of our car in the race – I think we were only missing a little speed in qualifying. Hopefully we can do better at Austin.”

Phil Hanson, 499P #83: “Fifth place at the chequered flag in São Paulo. I think this was the most competitive weekend we’ve had at this circuit with the 499P, as also shown by the podium finish secured by the number 51 car. Unfortunately, during my second stint I had quite a significant contact that damaged the front splitter. We had to live with that damage for the rest of the race, losing performance. All things considered, I think we can be satisfied with the pace we showed and with the points we managed to bring home.”

Robert Kubica, 499P #83: “The race got off to a very good start in the opening stint, and we immediately managed to make up a few positions. Then a couple of penalties and a contact made life difficult for us, and in the closing stages fifth place was the maximum we could achieve in the circumstances we found ourselves in.”

Antonello Coletta, Global Head of Endurance and Corse Clienti: “We are very pleased with the result achieved at one of the circuits that is certainly not among the most favourable for the 499P. The team did an incredible job with excellent strategies, without which we would not have been able to finish second and fight for the leading positions. There is still a little disappointment over the drive-through for the number 50 and the incident in the final stint, which deprived the car of a possible podium finish. The number 83 also performed well, playing a leading role in the early stages of the race before damaging its nose in contact with another car and having to complete the race in that condition, which was certainly a disadvantage. We head home motivated and already focused on the next round in Austin.”

Ferdinando Cannizzo, Head of Endurance Race Cars: "We did a great job as a team: 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 has paid off for everyone. The 499P's reliability was impeccable, as were the setup, 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. The drivers also did very well, and we should be really pleased with all these aspects."