WEC, when history repeats itself
- Marco Bise
- Jul 23, 2024
- 4 min read
A difficult race, Ferrari constantly chasing and never in the top positions in San Paolo, for the fifth round of the WEC season.
Was this to be expected? Looking at what happened after Le Mans last year, unfortunately yes.
And even the leaders of the historic Maranello team expected it, who at the end of the race confirmed to the press that the expectations of the day before had been maintained, unexpectedly speaking of "frustration" and "impotence".
What happened in Brazil?
After the wonderful win of the 24h of Le Mans and the amazing performances shown at Imola and Spa, Ferrari arrived in Brazil with skyrocketing morale and an updated technological package.
But already from free practices, it was clear from the beginning that neither the official red or the private ‘yellow’ of AF Corse would be in the race for victory.
A feeling that was later confirmed during the race, where the three 499Ps finished only in fifth, sixth and eleventh position.
And it wasn’t a question of bad luck, like in Spa, nor of strategy mistakes, like in Imola: here at the Interlagos circuit, for the first time since the Losail race, the 499Ps simply didn’t have the pace. And, exactly like in Qatar, the first suspect remains the same: the BoP.
The difficulties were exposed to the press at the end of the weekend by Antonello Coletta, the head of the WEC program, who declared to FormulaPassion.it "At the end of a race like the one we experienced here in Brazil, it is difficult to find the best words to express the frustration and the sense of helplessness that the team felt. Despite an impeccable job in preparing for the event and during the race, it was not possible to achieve a better result on the track. We were aware that we would not have had the opportunity to compete for the victory, unfortunately what emerged in the simulations was confirmed by what occurred in the race."
The manager then concluded by rumbling against the federation: "We hope to have the chance to fight fairly in Austin".
In short, a very light broadside aimed at the FIA, which for the umpteenth time has demonstrated that it is lacking - and not a little - in the management of the Balance of Performance.
Like a deja-vu
But, as mentioned before, unfortunately this was to be expected.
Why?
In order to understand this you have to go back a year, to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Last season the historic French race was characterized by a very well calibrated BoP, which saw four manufacturers fighting for the final victory, which then went to Ferrari #51.
It was therefore thought that the parameters of the BoP would undergo only minimal changes, but against all predictions, a major revision arrived instead.
A good 12kW of power has been cut from the 499P, and as if that wasn't enough, extra kg of ballast has also been added, probably also following heavy complaints from Toyota.
You can therefore imagine the result, with Ferrari effectively being cut out of the running until the end of the season.
Well, a year later, we find ourselves experiencing the same scenario.
After another very tight 24 hours of Le Mans and marked by a decidedly "on point" BoP, the review of the parameters has once again thrown everything out of control.
This was confirmed by all members of the Maranello endurance program, starting from the drivers up to the big bosses: the Balance of Performance in Sao Paulo was too severe, with the 17 kg of ballast and the reduction in power which excessively penalized a car that does not have the slow load as its main weapon.
But this characteristic of the 499P was clear from the beginning of last year, and we sincerely hope that the FIA has noticed it - even if from the current management of the BoP this seems not to be the case.
Is Le Mans affecting the BoP too much?
And here we arrive at the focal point of the reflection: isn't it that from a Balance of Performance perspective, excessive sonority is given to the success in the 24 hours of Le Mans?
Don't get us wrong: the historic Sarthe race undoubtedly remains the most important and fascinating event of the season, but we must still consider that we are racing on an extremely atypical type of circuit, with immense straights that dominate and the slow corners that are truly an infinitesimal part if compared to other more "conventional" tracks.
In short, having a very fast car at Le Mans does not necessarily mean having the best car in every single aspect, and this must be taken into account to best interpret the overall values on the field, before revolutionizing the BoP.
What we want for people to reflect on is precisely this: Ferrari, for two years in a row, was excessively crippled after winning at Le Mans, albeit without having dominated on either occasion. It had a lot of power taken away in Monza in 2023 and a lot of weight added in Brazil in 2024, and in both cases it was magically cut out of contention.
Everyone, including teams and manufacturers, is tired of having to hear controversies every weekend and would just like to have greater transparency on this aspect from the federation, which however continues to want to maintain absolute secrecy on the matter.
Therefore, as it happens, more and more often, we find ourselves with more questions than answers…
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