Ferrari has regained the engine power it lost ahead of its victory within the 24 Hours of Le Mans on the Interlagos World Endurance Championship this weekend.
The Italian manufacturer’s 499P has seen its maximum power drop by 1.7% above 250 km/h (155 mph) as a part of a brand new power boost within the Hypercar Balance of Performance class, introduced ahead of last month’s Le Mans WEC race.
In the BoP report published for the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, the Ferrari Le Mans hypercar achieved a positive results of 1.8%.
Ferrari has kept away from criticising the ability cut at Le Mans, but technical director Ferdinando Cannizzo asked the media to “draw their own conclusions” on the impact of the change following the primary on-track motion on the test day preceding the event.
He stressed that “on a track like Le Mans we drive at a speed of over 250 km/h” [155mph] 45% of the time” and that the lack of power will affect the automobile's ability to race.
Ferrari increased its straight-line speed during race week, but the choice to scale back the ability of the 499P engine resulted within the Toyota GR010 HYBRID LMH proving to be the quicker automobile in wet and damp conditions.
#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi
Photo: Rainier Ehrhardt
The maximum power of the 499P hybrid powertrain below the 250 km/h threshold has been reduced for the WEC race in Brazil, the fifth round of the championship, from 508 kW at Le Mans to 503 kW (from 678 to 674 hp).
The minimum weight of the automobile has also been increased in comparison with the French enduro from 1,043 to 1,060 kg.
However, each the engine power and weight of the Ferrari are largely in step with the outcomes from the WEC round at Spa in May, as is the case with most Hypercars.
This is since the WEC, FIA and Automobile Club de l'Ouest rulemakers consider that Le Mans has a separate BoP attributable to the unique characteristics of the 8.47-mile Circuit de la Sarthe.
Power was down from 506kW at Spa and weight up from 1,053kg for Ferrari in comparison with the race in Belgium, where the marque was on target for victory however the race was controversially restarted beyond its scheduled finish following a red flag.
Only the Porsche 963, Peugeot 9X8 2024 and Isotta Fraschini Tipo 6 Competitizone LMH have recorded double-digit weights since Spa.
The Porsche LMDh is 14kg heavier, the Peugeot LMH is 14kg heavier and the Isotta has lost 30kg.
Peugeot's power increased by 2kW from the Spa's, while Porsche's power increased by 5kW to 512kW, with no positive or negative power gains for either automobile.
The Toyota GR010 will likely be 4 kg lighter than at Spa and its power will likely be 9 kW less.
However, the automobile received an extra power increase correction of two.8%.
The Alpine A424 LMDh, one in all the fastest cars on the Le Mans straight, received a correction of -1.3% above 250 km/h.
