Ferrari’s factory Hypercar team in the World Endurance Championship are set for another hearing following an appeal against the FIA.
AF Corse are running three cars in the Hypercar class of the WEC in 2024, the No. 50 and 51 being Ferrari’s factory team.
The Italian giants have enjoyed a successful season thus far, claiming five podiums amongst their three machines, two of which being wins.
However, Ferrari had another potential win slip between their grasp in controversial fashion and the team have been seeking to appeal against the result.
Ferrari AF Corse set to appeal stewards’ verdict on Spa
The incident occurred back in May during the Six Hours of Spa, where Ferrari had been running a one-two before the session was red flagged.
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With four hours and 13 minutes run, the extensive repairs of the barriers caused the race to go beyond the six-hour timeframe that was set to conclude at 19:00.
However, the stewards decided to resume the remaining one hour and 44 minutes at 17:10. Ultimately, the Ferrari 499P’s finished third and fourth, as Jota Porsche and the factory Porsche Penske Motorsport benefited from a pit stop before the stoppage.
The stewards rejected Ferrari’s initial protest, but the Italian team have exercised the right to appeal. Antonello Coletta, the team’s sportscar racing boss, has said that he wants clarification on the rules.
Speaking with Autosport after the WEC event in Austin, which Ferrari won with their No. 83 car driven by Robert Kubica, Robert Schwartzman and Yifei Fe, the AF factory team manager Batti Pregliasco revealed why the Italians are appealing the decision.
He said: “Why are we making an appeal? Because we want to understand if this can happen again because it can affect sporting matters.”
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Porsche’s Jota team will be represented in the next hearing
The stewards’ decision to extend the timeframe of the race in Spa was an unprecedented move in WEC’s history, but under the sporting regulations, it was allowed.
The rules state that: “If the circumstances so require the stewards may take the decision to stop and/or modify the race time set.
“This may not exceed the time of the competition,” which in Spa’s case is six hours.
Effectively, the stewards’ decision could not be protested under the series’ sporting code, but Ferrari are due to appeal the matter in another hearing.
Jota, who went on to win at Spa with the No.12 car, confirmed that it will be represented at said hearing.