11/01/2023
NEWS STORY
Antonio Giovinazzi has been named as one of six drivers to represent Ferrari in the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Giovinazzi, who contested 62 grands prix, firstly with Sauber and then Alfa Romeo, before switching to Formula E, will partner Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado in the No. 51 Ferrari 499P.
After becoming World Champions for the second time in a row (the third in their careers) in the LMGTE Pro class, Guidi and Calado will take on the challenge of earning the winners' laurel in the top class of Sports Car racing.
The partnership, now in its sixth season in the world championship, can boast a unique list of triumphs: no one before has been crowned champion twice in a row in the LMGTE Pro class and no crew has won three laurels (2017, 2021, 2022). Over seven seasons in the WEC the pair have recorded 11 wins and 23 podiums from 39 starts.
Now, as the Maranello manufacturer enters the Hypercar division, they will be partnered by Giovinazzi, who is competing full-time in the endurance world championship for the first time after his experience at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2018, where he made his presence felt, finishing 5th overall with AF Corse.
Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen are set to take turns in car number 50, chosen to mark the years that have passed Ferrari last raced in the top class of the endurance world championship.
Fuoco is rapidly establishing himself as one of the most talented drivers on the endurance racing scene and, together with Spaniard Miguel Molina, won the 8 Hours of Bahrain, playing a decisive role in winning the Manufacturers' World Championship title with a great season finale. Molina, European Le Mans Series champion in 2021, brings experience and determination to the crew.
Danish driver Nicklas Nielsen, after becoming World Champion in the LMP2 Pro-Am class, completes a unique journey that has featured the Ferrari Challenge as an extraordinary accelerating element and has seen him win at least one continental or world championship title without interruption since 2018, always at the wheel of Prancing Horse cars.
"The 499P's debut will be a defining moment in the history of the Prancing Horse," said Giovinazzi, "and it will be a big honour for me to be part of this extraordinary moment. We know we have a great responsibility to meet with much humility, but we are aware of our strength and ready for this huge challenge."