Three days ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2024, the Hypercars of Ferrari’s Prancing Horse returned to the circuit today for their initial free practice and qualifying sessions. In qualifying, the official 499Ps secured third and seventh positions, with Antonio Fuoco and Alessandro Pier Guidi driving Hypercars number 50 and 51, respectively, ensuring their spots in tomorrow’s Hyperpole.
Meanwhile, AF Corse’s Ferrari number 83 qualified in 13th place, positioning it for the race set to commence on Saturday, June 15, at 4 p.m. local time.
Free Practice 1 commenced at 2 p.m. under dry conditions on the French track. The session, interrupted by several yellow and two red flags over three hours, saw all Ferrari – AF Corse drivers take their turns behind the wheel. Temperatures at the end of the session reached 18.9°C in the air and 26.5°C on the asphalt.
The fastest of the official team’s 499Ps during this session was Fuoco-Molina-Nielsen’s number 50, finishing eighth with a time of 3’26”973, just 0.960 seconds behind the session leader, Toyota’s number 8. Pier Guidi-Calado-Giovinazzi in the number 51 Hypercar finished sixteenth, collectively completing 58 laps between the two red-liveried cars.
AF Corse’s 499P number 83, driven by Maranello’s official drivers Ye and Shwartzman alongside Kubica, achieved 11th place with a best lap time of 3’27”513.
Qualifying began at 7 p.m. in similar dry conditions but with cooler temperatures around 19°C in the air and asphalt ranging from 27°C to 29.4°C. Fuoco and Pier Guidi aimed for top-eight finishes to secure their places in Thursday’s Hyperpole session.
Fuoco recorded the third-fastest time at 3’24”731, just 0.266 seconds behind the leading BMW number 15. Meanwhile, Pier Guidi posted a time of 3’25”049, securing seventh place on the grid.
In a competitive qualifying session, AF Corse’s 499P number 83, piloted by Ye, qualified in 13th position, trailing the leader by 1.301 seconds.
