Ferrari won’t expand into the IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2025 to fully focus on WEC and the 24 Hours of Le Mans with their 499P Hypercar.
The Italian manufacturer will continue with the three-car lineup in the World Endurance Championship, despite their Hypercar also being eligible to race in IMSA.
The 499P has been incredibly successful since making its WEC debut in 2023. Ferrari have won Le Mans both times they have entered the 499P, taking the crown away from Toyota.
Those races are the only two events Ferrari have won, however, and the Japanese manufacturer eventually took the championship last year.
Ferrari want to keep up the momentum in WEC rather than expand into IMSA
Ferrari’s return to the top class in WEC has been impressive, running three cars in the Hypercar category and challenging Toyota who were dominant at the end of the old LMP1 era.
The IMSA championship in North America features some cars which also compete in WEC, including the BMW M Hybrid V8, Porsche 963 and Cadillac V-Series.R, with the No.7 Porsche Penske taking two wins so far this year.
Ferrari head of sportscar racing Antonello Coletta said, via motorsport.com, that the Italian team “prefers to consolidate [their] programme” in WEC, rather than competing in the World Endurance Championship alongside an entry in IMSA.
“Next year we will be involved only in WEC and not IMSA,” he stated. “Now, we concentrate on the WEC with three cars.”
Ferrari’s three cars in WEC have had varying levels of success with both factory 499Ps run by AF Corse, the No. 51 and No. 50 cars, taking victories at Le Mans.
In contrast, the customer entry with its striking yellow livery has suffered a more difficult run. It is yet to win a race this season and scored a best result of fourth place at the season opener in Qatar.
The No. 83 car driven by Robert Shwartzman, Yifei Ye and former Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica retired at Le Mans and struggled to keep up with their factory counterparts.
Ferrari aren’t ruling out a future IMSA entry
Despite ruling out an expansion into IMSA for next season, Coletta said it is possible for Ferrari to compete in North America in the future, which is a key market for the manufacturer.
He added: “At the moment, we don’t have a plan to go to America but it is not impossible for the future. We need to take time for each development of our activity.”
Porsche have proven that it is possible to be competitive in both championships as they are leading the standings in both series right now.
Ferrari have also competed in the top class in IMSA previously, running the 333SP from 1994-2003 and taking victory at the Daytona 24 Hours in 1998.