Three weeks after Lone Star Le Mans, where Ferrari secured pole position with Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi, and claimed its first win of the season with Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen, the 499Ps head to the circuit at the foot of Mount Fuji aiming to score points of vital importance for the World Championship standings.
Contract renewals. In the run-up to the 6 Hours of Fuji, Ferrari announces the multi-year contract renewals of Nicklas Nielsen and Yifei Ye, official drivers for the Maranello Manufacturer – both winners of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the 499P, in 2024 and 2025 respectively – who will continue to represent the Prancing Horse in the main international endurance competitions.
The circuit. Inaugurated in 1965, the Fuji Speedway measures 4.563 kilometres and includes 16 turns. The circuit is characterised by several changes in elevation and a highly technical layout combining corners with very different radii and cornering speeds. The venue's reputation, since the 1960s and 1970s, has been closely linked to endurance racing. More recently, since the FIA WEC was established in 2012, Fuji has hosted a round of the World Championship every year, except in 2021.
Previous editions. The best results for the 499Ps in the top class Hypercar are the ninth-place finishes achieved in 2025 by official Ferrari drivers Ye and Hanson, together with Kubica, and in 2024 by Fuoco, Molina and Nielsen. In more recent years, Fuji has also hosted the first class win for the 296 LMGT3, in 2024, with the Vista AF Corse team's car driven by official Ferrari driver Rigon, together with Flohr and Castellacci, and in 2023 the last World Championship win for the 488 GTE, secured by the same crew.
The situation. The 26 points scored overall by the official Ferrari – AF Corse team’s 499Ps in the last round contested in the United States of America have enabled Ferrari to remain third in the World Manufacturers’ championship standings, closing the gap to the leaders, now 26 points.
In the Drivers’ standings, meanwhile, reigning World Champions Pier Guidi-Calado-Giovinazzi, 11th at COTA, lie fifth on 58 points, 17 points behind the leader; Fuoco-Molina-Nielsen, winners in America, are seventh with a 21-point gap; Ye-Hanson-Kubica, who finished 14th at Austin with the number 83 499P fielded by the AF Corse team, are 13th (-44).
Mastering Variables. Next week, before the Japanese race, the second episode of “Mastering Variables”, dedicated to the work of the Ferrari – AF Corse team’s mechanics, will be published on the Ferrari YouTube channel. Through interviews and previously unseen images, the episode will reveal the work of the team before and during a FIA WEC event, managing the many variables that characterise an endurance race, with the aim of contributing to achieving the best possible result.
The programme. On Friday, 25 September, two free practice sessions will take place, each lasting 90 minutes, starting at 10.15 a.m. and 2.30 p.m.; on Saturday, 26 September, after the third free practice session from 9.30 a.m. to 10.30 a.m., the Hypercar class qualifying session and Hyperpole are scheduled for 2.40 p.m. and 3.30 p.m. respectively. The 6 Hours of Fuji will kick off at 11 a.m. local time on Sunday, 27 September.
4.563. Length of the circuit (in kilometres)
1965. The year Fuji Speedway was inaugurated
3rd. Ferrari’s position in the World Manufacturers’ Championship standings
