- The Ferrari 499P hypercar will tackle the elite class of WEC in 2023
- Ferrari has not competed in endurance racing since 1973
Ferrari has confirmed its return to the elite class of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) with the announcement of its 499P hypercar.
The Italian marque has not competed in WEC since 1973, meaning the team will compete in the centenary edition of Le Mans having last raced in the iconic event at its 50th anniversary.
Ferrari has won Le Mans nine times, most recently in 1965. The team announced its return to WEC in February last year following the International Automobile Federation's (FIA) decision to move to hybrid power for the series.
“The 499P sees us return to compete for outright victory in the WEC series,” said John Elkann, executive chairman of Ferrari.
“When we decided to commit to this project, we embarked on a path of innovation and development, faithful to our tradition that sees the track as the ideal terrain to push the boundaries of cutting-edge technological solutions, solutions that in time will be transferred to our road cars.
“We enter this challenge with humility, but conscious of a history that has taken us to over 20 world endurance titles and nine overall victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”
The 2023 WEC season will begin on 17th March with the 1000 Miles of Sebring and conclude with the Eight Hours of Bahrain on 4th November. The 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is scheduled from 10th to 11th June.