Ferrari acknowledged underestimating the rain during the 6 Hours of Imola WEC and made a mistake by not splitting the strategies between their two 499Ps. Antonello Coletta, Ferrari’s Global Head of Endurance and Corse Clienti, spoke to the selected press after the race to explain the misunderstanding. He expressed regret for disappointing the Tifosi and everyone in Imola and in the stands. Coletta also mentioned that driver James Calado gave his perspective on the situation, but ultimately, the team did not realize they should have been on wet tires.
During the third round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, the threat of rain became a reality in the final sector. Ferrari, using medium slick tires with four stints, chose to stay on track to maintain their 1-2 position. However, as the rain intensified, Toyota quickly decided to pit and switch to wet tires, while Ferrari did not. Toyota’s #7 car, driven by Kamui Kobayashi, showed significantly faster pace than the leading Ferrari, leading Ferrari to eventually bring both cars in for wet tires. This decision caused them to drop in the standings, allowing Toyota’s #7 car to take the lead.
In the end, Ferrari finished in fourth and seventh place, acknowledging the satisfactory performance of their 499Ps, but admitting they misjudged the opportunity to at least keep one Ferrari to defend the race lead.
