Following the reveal of their continued driver line up for his or her current numbers 50 and 51 automobiles, Ferrari AF-Corse have unveiled who shall be driving their third Ferrari 499P within the FIA WEC. 2023 LMP2 champion Robert Kubica shall be joined by official Ferrari drivers Robert Schwartzman and newcomer to the Scuderia Yifei Ye.
Poland’s Robert Kubica loved an ideal yr within the remaining season of the LMP2 class within the FIA WEC (World Endurance Championship). His Staff WRT automobile was solely off the rostrum in a single spherical, the season opener on the 1000 Miles of Sebring. From then on, they achieved two third positions, one second, and three wins on the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, 6 Hours of Fuji, and the season finale on the 8 Hours of Bahrain.
This third Ferrari has an uphill battle earlier than it. It’s becoming a member of a really aggressive and established Hypercar class. As a driver with nice expertise, Kubica is conscious of the problem earlier than them. “We should attempt to maintain our ft on the bottom and do our greatest,” he mentioned, including “particularly at first of the season it won’t be straightforward, however we’ll attempt to maximize observe time to realize essential expertise.” With different groups, similar to Lamborghini, making their debut in 2024, and the Ferrari group having completed second within the 2023 constructors championship, they stand an actual probability to be aggressive.
Former Ferrari Academy driver Robert Schwartzman was promoted to Ferrari reserve driver in 2023. He competed in an F1 follow session for the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix, and competed for AF-Corse within the 2023 GT World Problem Europe Endurance Cup, securing a win on the remaining spherical on the 3 Hours of Barcelona. In November 2023, Schwartzman posted the very best general time in a 499P within the rookie exams at Bahrain.
For Chinese language driver Yifei Ye, 2024 shall be his second season within the WEC and his first full-time season. The 23 yr outdated competed in all however two rounds of the 2023 WEC season for Hertz Staff Jota in a Porsche 963. Whereas they by no means received onto the rostrum, that they had a aggressive season. Ye even loved a stint within the general lead of the celebrated Centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans earlier than he sadly misplaced management, resulting in a crash that required a 20 minute restore stint in storage.
Now becoming a member of the group that finally received that race, Ye has one other achievment underneath his belt by becoming a member of the Scuderia. “Once I heard I’d be an official Ferrari driver, I used to be thrilled. For me, that is a dream come true” Ye enthused. He’s very clear about his future desires, saying “If changing into a Ferrari official driver is an achievement and a brand new start line in my profession, my dream is to change into the primary Chinese language driver to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the primary to change into world champion in an FIA championship.” He’s actually becoming a member of a very good group to assist him on that journey.
