Ferrari Evaluating Potential 499P Upgrades Ahead Of Intense Test Programme

Ferrari AF Corse is currently evaluating potential upgrades for its 499P Hypercar ahead of the 2024 season, according to Giuliano Salvi, the Ferrari GT and sports race cars race and testing manager.

The 499P, which has enjoyed a remarkable debut season in the FIA WEC, winning the Le Mans 24 Hours on its first attempt back in June, could potentially benefit from ‘Joker’ upgrades next season. But Ferrari hasn’t yet finalised the extent of the evolutions it could make, which are subject to both internal decisions and negotiations with the FIA and ACO.

“We are evaluating everything at the moment, I can’t disclose the conclusions as it is all still under discussion internally,” Salvi told the media at Fuji earlier today. “After our first phase, which was dedicated to working out the big problems we face, now we are trying to evaluate our weaknesses with the car. At the moment we haven’t decided everything.”

So far Ferrari says it hasn’t yet track-tested any significant 2024 revisions or evolutions to the 499P which would count towards the five permitted ‘Joker’ performance upgrades allowed for each LMH-spec car during its lifecycle. (Upgrades that are focused on safety or reliability do not count towards the five.)

“We already understand where we should improve,” Salvi continued. “We haven’t tested (new components) in the car yet, but we have evaluated different solutions. It’s a championship with a few races, so for us to understand if something is a real problem or if it’s the car not being set up properly is something we are gaining experience with all the time.”

It’s a similar situation at Peugeot, which, as previously reported by DSC, is also exploring potential opportunities for next year for its 9X8, which could range from “a very basic update of the current package or a very significant development of the car.”

Olivier Jansonnie, Peugeot Sport’s technical director, feels more clarity is needed from the organisers on how far the LMH manufacturers, including Peugeot, can push the envelope.

“Our position is the same. We still want more transparency. We cannot make upgrades without their agreement, it’s not frozen yet what we could do with them, we are still discussing it,” he said to the media this week.

“We have had private discussions with the ACO and FIA, they know our opinion on the topic and we know theirs.”

Salvi on the other hand, played down the importance of its discussions with the ACO and FIA regarding upgrades to the 499P. He believes the team can continue to make significant strides via operational improvements and developing revisions for its car.

“We’re pretty happy about our relationship with the FIA at the moment,” he explained. “It’s a brand new team, it’s young, our focus is on ourselves to improve. This (developing upgrades) is not a big priority, we need to improve our way of working.”

Either way, Ferrari is set to embark on an “intense testing programme” to the end of the calendar year, which will include preparations for the season finale in Bahrain and the 2024 season opener in Qatar.

This follows a recent test over the summer at Barcelona, a year on from the car’s initial rollout at Fiorano and first major run at the aforementioned Spanish venue. Salvi says testing at the Barcelona circuit each summer “is a tradition we would like to keep” because it represented a good benchmark for the progress of the car and the team over the previous 12 months.

Next on the agenda is a post-Fuji test in Bahrain ahead of the final race of the season on the Sakhir circuit. The team still has seven days of testing left from its 2023 allocation and intends to use it all. In the Middle East, Salvi said it will use its track time to “replicate the conditions of the race (which runs into darkness) as much as possible.”

After its pre-event test in Bahrain and the race weekend proper, Ferrari will then immediately pivot to its winter testing programme ahead of the 2024 season. The day after the eight-hour race Ferrari will take part in the annual post-season Rookie Test, though it hasn’t yet been confirmed which drivers will turn laps.

“We’re focused on the current team but we are open-minded,” Salvi said when asked whether or not any members of the Ferrari Driver Academy would get a chance.

Following that Ferrari expects to take part in a winter test in Qatar on November 30th and December 1st, which is being organised by Penske. It will serve as a prelude to the 2024 season opener, which is being held at the Lusail circuit for the first time next March.