Ferrari will field an additional 499P Hypercar in the 2024 World Endurance Championship for drivers Robert Kubica, Robert Shwartzman and Yifei Ye.
The trio's #83 machine will be officially entered by ‘AF Corse’, while the Italian manufacturer’s two works entries - #50 and #51 - will race once again under the ‘Ferrari AF Corse’ banner.
Ferrari’s expanded WEC program comes on the heels of the House of Maranello’s resounding success last season, where the 499P claimed overall victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours with the number 51 team of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi.
The endurance classic was the only race in which Toyota, the dominant force in WEC for many years, failed to secure overall victory.
It was announced last November that Kubica would step up from the WEC’s LMP2 class to join the championship’s top-flight category, while it was always anticipated that Shwartzman – the Scuderia’s F1 reserve – would be assigned to Ferrari’s Hypercar programme.
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As for Yifei Ye, the Chinese charger is no stranger to the Hypercar division, having raced last season in the WEC a Porsche 963 with Hertz Team Jota.
“After winning the LMP2 class in 2023 [with Team WRT], I am very happy to be able to drive the AF Corse Ferrari 499P this season,” Kubica said.
“We will have to try to keep our feet on the ground and do our best. Especially at the beginning of the season it will not be easy, but we will try to maximise track time to gain crucial experience.”
Shwartzman, who raced last season with AF Corse in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, expressed his confidence in being able to fight at the front of the field with Ferrari’s 499P contender.
“We are feeling confident and ambitious,” commented the Israeli-Russian driver. “Confident about the job we will do with the team, and ambitious about the results we want to achieve this year.
“We will have little time and many things to focus on, but I will give my best to adapt to the car, to the team and everything as fast as possible.
“I am confident that the season will be positive and I am really motivated to get good results, with the ambition to win the world title.”
©Ferrari
Ferrari's boosted presence in the WEC signals the legendary manufacturer's commitment to becoming a major force in endurance racing once again.
With a strong driver line-up, proven technology and a proven track record of success, Ferrari is poised to make a serious challenge for the overall title in 2024.
Antonello Coletta, Global Head of Endurance and Corse Clienti added: “We are delighted to give our official drivers the chance to take part in the entire FIA WEC season in the number 83 Ferrari 499P of the AF Corse team.
"Yifei has made a name for himself in recent seasons by winning two endurance racing titles. Now he can prove himself in the top world championship category with a Ferrari Hypercar.
"In contrast, Robert will get to continue on his path with a new challenge after a successful 2023 season that saw him win in Barcelona with the 296 GT3 and adapt brilliantly to the 499P during rookie testing in Bahrain.”
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