Ferrari have been very quick in WEC this season, consistently being at the front of the field and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but head to the 6 Hours of Fuji with a point to prove.
The Italian manufacturer were impeccable at Le Mans, winning the race for the second consecutive year and ending Toyota’s domination of the event in WEC.
By contrast, the two factory Ferrari entries, the No. 50 and No. 51, endured mixed results last time out at Lone Star Le Mans in Texas.
At the Circuit of The Americas, the No. 50 finished third while the sister car retired with the car scoring no points, compounding a difficult season.
Ferrari’s two factory entries are now under pressure after the No. 83 customer car won at Lone Star Le Mans
Ferrari’s two factory cars have not yet won a race in the World Endurance Championship outside of Le Mans, despite their impressive speed in France.
They have narrowly missed out, finishing in third place three times this year across the two cars, but Ferrari’s factory entries haven’t taken a win.
The No. 83 car run by AF Corse won Lone Star Le Mans last time out and is driven by an excellent trio of drivers, including former Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica.
AF Corse have considerably fewer resources than the other two Ferrari Hypercars, making their task more challenging.
They capitalised on the No. 50 lacking raw speed, and Antonio Giovinazzi made contact with a Lexus LMGT3 car.
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The result in Texas has put pressure on the two factory cars as they should have taken a win outside of Le Mans but missed chances to stand on the top step of the podium.
Ferrari lost an opportunity to take victory earlier this season at Imola due to inaccurate weather forecasts, as all three cars were running on slicks in the rain.
Toyota may also put Ferrari under pressure if they continue their good form at Fuji
Toyota have been superb at Fuji Speedway in Japan in the World Endurance Championship. The Japanese manufacturer won there last year and haven’t lost at the circuit since 2015.
They took a dominant one-two finish in 2023 as the No. 50 Ferrari car had to settle for third place after being outclassed at Toyota’s home circuit.
The pair of Ferrari factory cars will be looking to end Toyota’s domination in Japan just as they did at Le Mans.
Ferrari’s No. 50 still has a chance of taking the Drivers’ Championship as they are 12 points behind the No. 6 Porsche that leads the way.
This chance of taking the title will only put more attention on the driver trio that have proven they can win this year, by winning at Le Mans.