Ferrari, because the victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a shock for F1 – Corriere.it

The tenth, for history. To disprove the clichés of a Ferrari that no longer knows how to win (in F1). Le Mans, 11 June 2023: a date that will remain engraved in the legend of the Prancing Horse. A year ago the 499P didn’t even exist, great ambitions but also doubts hovered around the hybrid racing car. The return after half a century to the top class of endurance (the ninth and last success in France was in 1965), a category that Enzo Ferrari abandoned to concentrate solely on F1.

It was John Elkann who put the project back in motion, a risk-laden bet considering the habitu of this discipline, Toyota which had dominated since 2018. The president won it, against all odds. Unforgettable – says Elkann -, dedicated to all those who work in Ferrari. This victory must be an example for all of us. We are proud to have brought Italy to the top step of the podium. Leclerc was also in the bedlam of the Sarthe, he too expects to experience days like this.

Breaking the 24 Hours straight at first was considered a utopia, despite the one-two finish in qualifying. Up until yesterday in the World Endurance Championship, the car had collected three podiums in three rounds, but zero victories. After 342 laps the fatigue, the tension, the anxiety about the mishaps dissolved in collective tears. Those of Antonio Giovinazzi, on the red number 51 together with Alessandro Pier Guidi and the British James Calado: I cried, after so many years of sacrifices, of disappointments. But in life if you keep believing it, sooner or later you’ll make it. The boy from Martina Franca with the consistency of a marathon runner helped to crumble the resistance of the Toyota number 8 driven by Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa and Sebastien Buemi. The winners of the 2022 edition, convinced that the Cavallino would pay for youth vices in the long run. They were defeated after a very long tug of war, in which Pier Guidi, the driver from Tortona with an engineering degree, used his muscles and a lot of head.

One who had already hoarded titles in the GT, just together with his friend Calado with whom he shares a sense of proportion and aplomb. He shook, twice. When I was in the gravel I thought the dream was over but instead I set off again and only thought about recovering. Still shivering in the pit stops, when the 499P fell silent and the big advantage over the Toyota went up in smoke. one of those moments when you have to keep a cool head. I restarted with the procedure we had tried, luckily it started… We all had faith, this is Ferrari.

This is the happy face of Maranello, a group led by smart managers like Antonello Coletta, an economist devoted to racing. Clear words (it was a surprise: we are the first manufacturer to win in the Hypercar debut), the numbers speak for themselves. The right ones. And the red people will speak: 7-9 July stage in Monza for the 6 Hours. The heroes of Le Mans deserve a special welcome.