Sebring: first day of school for the Hypercars
- Camilla Coletta
- Mar 20, 2023
- 4 min read
The first day of school for beginners in the Hypercar category was certainly not easy especially for the difficulty of the American circuit. Sebring is the oldest circuit in America, obtained from a former air base dating back to World War II, but what makes it "famous" are its bumps, being a bumpy circuit and with notable problems to the asphalt where it is difficult even just to maintain the trajectory. It is defined by many drivers as one of the most difficult tracks, if not the most difficult one in the championship, both physically for the driver and at the resistance level of the car.
It is therefore one of the most complicated circuits and not the favorite to debut at,and yet the 268 laps, the 1000 miles, the approximately 8 hours of competition on the American circuit have just ended, let’s see how the race went and what were the highlights of this sensational first day of Hypercar school.
Ferrari: what a come back!
What better way to celebrate the return of Ferrari in the top category of the World Endurance Championship than to place there, in the front row, the 50 as the years that have passed since the last time the Rossa was in the mother class. On Thursday, Antonio Fuoco, made that perfect lap that was enough to snatch Pole Position, leaving everyone in the Toyota box speechless about how that newbie, just arrived, could stand in front of them. Yet, here she is, on her first day of school, in front of everyone, with a driver on his debut in the category: Antonio Fuoco, 26 years old and lots of grit behind the wheel.
A difficult first day, however, that of the twin car that after the contact in the race with a Porsche and a Ferrari of the GTE Am class, while lapping it, ends up in the tent to repair the huge damage. Thanks to the amazing work of the mechanics, however, it manages to finish the race in seventh position.
However, Ferrari went home satisfied, having brought both cars to the finish line and having achieved the goal they had set for the podium. Despite the difficulties, the development work of the Maranello company seems to be excellent, in fact it did not show any reliability problems. Instead, we have seen some problems with tire management and strategies, but Calado said they already know where the problems are and will work to solve them.
Cadillac has the pace
Cadillac has the pace, there is no doubt about it, we saw them fighting with Ferrari for the third place, but this was not enough, and in fact, they finished fourth in the standings. Surely the American company, for now, is a level above the Porsche that seems to be unprepared compared to the #2.
Disappointment at Porsche
Disappointment at Porsche’s that, despite showing excellent reliability, seems not to be up to date with the opponents. At the start of the race, it seemed to be in a fight with Ferrari and Cadillac, while Toyota continued its race apart, but then lost pace and landed in fifth and sixth place, finishing with a big gap from the debutantes ahead of them. There is therefore much work to be done for the German manufacturer to catch up with the levels of Cadillac.
Impressive Vanwall's abilities
Vanwall amazes to finish the race, and they do it in eighth place, just behind the Porsche despite doing their shakedown recently, in October. The green and grey car showed to have no problems, if not that to the suspension caused by the hellish bumps of Sebring. However, the race of Vanwall was ruined due to the collision with the Peugeot #93 that caused damage to the rear.
The one who has more to learn at Vanwall’s is Jacques Villeneuve who, perhaps, expected something different, something easier for a Formula 1 world champion, the fourth to land in the WEC after Alonso, Button and Fittipaldi.
Toyota waits for no one
40 wins, with that of yesterday, in the WEC to date, undoubtedly Toyota is one of those opponents difficult to beat because they are those who have long been in the category, together with Glickenhaus who for the moment does not seem to worry given its retirement during the third hour of the race. Toyota is a bit like that upper-class car that, on its first day of school, already knows everything and from which freshmen have a lot to learn.
Peugeot, what a disaster!
Certainly, Sebring is a difficult track, but it is even more so for Peugeot that, with the numerous bumps, cannot rely to the maximum on its aerodynamics, very different from other Hypercars having a rear wing. But undoubtedly the French House has not spent the winter reviewing and working on its reliability problems or, if it has, not in the best way given the many setbacks. We can say that they did not do their homework for the holidays, with the nightmare beginning in Sebring that saw them protagonists of gearbox and hybrid problems, which started before the race.
Not the best start for Glickenhaus
What a disaster the Glickenhaus 007 with its retirement before the middle of the race, after the car stopped on the track and its mechanics were not able to repair it. But at Glickenhaus they seemed so sure of themselves that I feel like giving them a second chance at Portimão.
And now...back home to study
There is still a lot to learn, a lot of cars to discover and understand their own, but who knows the everything on their first day of school? Although it may seem that the answer to this question is "Toyota", they too have yet to find out who they will be against this year and, to do so, we will have to wait for the Belgian round, because it will be at SPA that all the cards will be uncovered, and we will see what these cars can really do.
There is still a long way to go for the debutantes and they know it, but we are still at the beginning. Now it’s time to go home, analyze the data collected and get the homework done ahead of the next round on April 16th in Portimão.
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