Ferrari suffer FIVE in-race disasters at Le Mans despite WINNING

24 Hours of Le Mans

Ferrari suffer FIVE in-race disasters at Le Mans despite WINNING

It wasn't all smooth sailing for the historic manufacturer

Kamron Kent

Monday 17 June 2024 02:00

Ferrari had a rollercoaster of a ride in this year’s edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, from time penalties and unsafe releases to loose doors - and ultimately a race win.

Ahead of the 92nd edition of the famous endurance race, Ferrari were in a strong position to complete back-to-back victories at the Circuit de la Sarthe. Their entries qualified third and fourth on the grid, as last year’s winning car #51 started ahead of its team-mate, car #50, which ultimately triumphed.

However, it wasn't a simple 24-hour race for the famous Italian manufacturer as they looked to follow up their win last season.

Early penalty trouble

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Although Ferrari led the famous race after the first hour, they were hit with a 10-second time penalty for an unsafe release, within the first hour of the race.

Cadillac’s #3 car was already in the fast lane of the pits as Ferrari’s #50 was being serviced. However, when the #50 was released back into the flow of track, he cut up the American team which forced the #3 car to yield position.

Kubica vs Vanthoor

The Polish racer found himself behind the #15 BMW M Hybrid of Dries Vanthoor and some slower-running traffic, needing to squeeze his way through, but twitched too far right to send Vanthoor into the barrier at the Mulsanne Corner.

Kubica was later given a 30-second stop-and-go penalty, while Vanthoor suffered ‘a small concussion,’ as he announced on X.

Spinning the #8 Toyota

22 hours into the race, Ferrari’s car #51 found itself in a skirmish with the #8 Toyota. Ferrari’s car was driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi, whilst the Toyota was piloted by Brendon Hartley.

The #51 car darted down the inside at the end of the Mulsanne Corner and made contact with the right rear of the #8. Ferrari was able to continue in third, but Toyota’s competitor dropped down the order.

With nearly an hour left to go with the race, after 40 minutes after the incident occurred, it was announced that race control had delivered a five-second time penalty for #51.

Open door on #50

Although they were leading the race, Ferrari’s #50 was ordered into the pit lane which cost them the lead of the race. The reason was due to an open passenger door which caught the eye of race control due to a ‘safety element.’

Ferrari were 1-2 provisionally with less than two hours to go and Pier Guidi was ordered to try and keep the #7 Toyota behind. However, this was not successful. When Ferrari’s #50 returned to the circuit, they were out of the lead and down in fifth.

End of the road for #83

The #83 Ferrari privateer, driven by Yifei Ye at the time, was in the pit lane for their scheduled stop but their car was kept in the pit lane for longer than they had originally planned.

Smoke plumed out of the brakes as the team’s mechanics serviced the car. However, Ye was ordered out of the car shortly after, and instructed to jump clear of their car, which then retired from the race.

It was explained that the car had hybrid issues as it was pushed back into the garage by the team's mechanics.

Ferrari Cadillac 24 Hours of Le Mans