Ferrari, a legendary name in motorsport, will return this year to the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the centenary edition next weekend, with real chances of victory in the premier class of a race in which it has not participated since 1973.
Ferrari’s last victory in the general classification, in what was then known as the category of ‘prototypes’dates back to 1965.
The Scuderia succumbed a year later to the power of Ford, an episode immortalized by Hollywood in the movie ‘Le Mans 66’released in 2019.
After another fiasco against Matra in 1973, the brand of ‘Prancing Horse’ He decided to dedicate himself solely to Formula 1, also at the insistence of Niki Lauda, his great signing at that time.
Several teams later contested the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Ferraris, often without success, in the GT category, whose cars cannot fight for the general classification.
The appearance of the new category ‘Hypercars’ led to the World Endurance Championship (WEC), of which the 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of its races, several of the great car manufacturers such as Porsche, Peugeot, Cadillac and Ferrari.
Toyota, winner and dominator of the test in the last five editions, will face strong competition in this edition.
Two Ferrari 499Ps will defend the colors – red, as it should be – of the Maranello firm at Le Mans, the 4th round of the WEC, in which Ferrari currently occupies second place in the manufacturers’ standings, behind Toyota and ahead of Porsche.
The choice of Enzo Ferrari
A victory at the centenary of the legendary race would be the best way for Ferrari to celebrate its return to a test it first won in 1949, followed by eight more.
In 1973, when Le Mans was celebrating its 50th anniversary, Ferrari was defeated by Matra, who had already won the previous edition, in which Ferrari did not participate.
“The Matras designed based on aviation concepts were indisputably superior”recalls Jacky Ickx, who was part of one of the three teams that competed in a Ferrari 312PB.
«In 1973, Enzo Ferrari had to decide between Formula 1 or the resistance, because financially he considered that he could not compete on both fronts».
Currently, with less economic pressure, Ferrari can afford to return to the WEC and continue competing in Formula 1.
Ickx won Le Mans six times between 1969 and 1982, behind the wheel of a Ford, Mirage and Porsche, but never a Ferrari.
In 1973, his car, which he shared with Englishman Brian Redman, abandoned 90 minutes from the end and Ferrari had to settle for second place, six laps behind the winner, the Matra driven by Henri Pescarolo and Gérard Larrousse.
«A 24-hour Grand Prix»
“At dawn I knew that we would not reach the finish line, because one of the clutch pieces, which had already broken in F1, vibrated and ended up breaking as I had said”recalls Ickx, who at that time was competing with Ferrari in both championships and the engines used were similar.
“Currently, Le Mans is a 24-hour Grand Prix and that is the reason why there are three drivers” per car, instead of the two that there were half a century ago, where the great objective was to manage the car to hope to reach the goal.
Ferrari’s current F1 drivers, Charles Leclerc from Monegasque and Carlos Sainz from Spain, will be present at Le Mans next weekend… but not to compete, unlike the Scudería drivers who combined the two championships in 1973.
“We were mercenaries” who competed every weekend in various disciplines, summarizes Ickx.
In the next edition, in the different Ferrari teams, only Antonio Giovinazzi has competed in Formula 1. The others (Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen, Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado) are endurance specialists.
about the author
