Written by Abby Dowsett with Photos by Abby Dowsett and Dylan Osborne
“You have to trust and have confidence in your teammates.”
Being the most prestigious, famous and difficult endurance race in the world, it goes without saying that Le Mans will never be a boring spectacle, and this year was no different. The 2024 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans broke multiple records, the most prominent being the longest safety car to ever be used in motorsports history, with a total length of nearly seven hours. Never an easy race to begin with, this year posed multiple threats to it’s competitors: extreme weather, extreme crashes and extreme drama, which resulted in one of the most exciting races to date.
Until 2023, Ferrari had had a poor time in endurance racing, their last Le Mans win embarrassingly being in 1964. After their explosive and theatrical return to the top place podium at the centenary running in 2023, all eyes were on them in testing and qualifying in 2024 to see if they could replicate the win, or whether it would be a one time thing.
The Road to My Ride attended the Ferrari pre-race press conference, where drivers Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Neilsen gave their thoughts about the challenge that laid before them. Fuoco has been a member of Scuderia Ferrari’s F1 development team since 2020.
“Coming from an F1 background, I believe I can bring performance and pace to the race” Fuoco stated. “But I am having to get used to the difference in partnership between F1 and endurance, with more teamwork required in endurance racing.”
This is of course true. To drive in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a degree of selflessness is needed that is often not found in other racing disciplines.
“Yes,” teammate Miguel Molina agreed. “You have to have trust and confidence in your teammates and their overall skill sets to deal with the difficult conditions and terrain.”
Fuoco went on to detail the higher amount of challenges drivers faced in Le Mans than in single seater racing, overtaking and qualifying being the main two things he struggles with.
Indeed, qualifying for Ferrari would prove difficult as they were beaten by Porsche and Cadillac, ultimately lining up 4th and 5th on the grid.
Going into the race, it was difficult to say who would come out on top. Toyota, Porsche and Ferrari all showed potential, but underdogs like Cadillac and Alpine were also promising. Indeed, it was going to be a dog-fight right up until the end of the race, with a record breaking nine cars all finishing on the lead lap. But, as ever in Le Mans, nothing can be predicted. Both Alpines suffered critical engine failures early on, coming into the pits with enough smoke to see from the other side of the paddock. Porsche incurred penalties, and Ferrari had struggles of its own, battling the incredibly wet, foggy and dangerous weather.
At the halfway mark, it was Toyota that seemed to be doing the best. After incurring strong penalties, both cars had started low, qualifying 11th and 23rd respectively, but over the course of twelve hours, they’d fought their way back up to the top.
The final three hours of the race was a slug fest between the Ferrari No. 50 and Toyota, with multiple points of contact being made as the cars slipped and slid about on the wet track. The end of the race was particularly difficult for Ferrari, as the door of the No. 50 refused to close properly after the final pit stop. Neilsen, who was driving at the time, had to continuously attempt to manually slam it shut while driving or face a penalty that would surely lose them the race. But, in the end, they managed to fix it and just managed to cross the finish line before a re-fuel was required, a full thirteen seconds ahead of Toyota.
“After the issue with the door I thought everything was lost, but I knew the pace was good in the wet by the end. It was a long last stint and a very long last lap.” Nielson commented in the press conference after the race, looking very much exhausted.
This is Ferrari’s eleventh win overall at Le Mans, and while it wasn’t an easy race for them, it was certainly very much deserved.
Ferrari Hypercar No. 50 driver Antonio Fuoco speaks to the press during pre-race press conference.
“I thought everything was lost, but I knew the pace was good.”
