Podium in Qatar for the AF Corse Ferrari 499P with Kubica, Shwartzman and Ye

A comeback from the sixth row of the grid allowed AF Corse's number 83 Ferrari 499P - driven by Rober Kubica, Robert Shwartzman and Yifei Ye - to take second place in the FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams' first race of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship season at the Losail circuit. Overall, the trio crossed the chequered flag in fifth place.

Teamwork, the reliability of the 499P and the speed of the drivers overturned the outcome of a complicated qualifying session with a solid and flawless race.

Taking the track in the first stint of the race was Robert Kubica: the Pole managed to gain several positions at the start, ending the first hour of the race in eighth place. Yifei Ye continued the excellent work started by his teammate by climbing to fifth place during the third hour. The #83 Ferrari 499P then lost ground when, during the handover between Shwartzman (who had previously taken over from Ye) and Kubica, the team was forced to replace the car's rear end, damaged in a collision with an LMGT3 class car, which was later sanctioned with a drive-through for the manoeuvre.

In the second half of the race the AF Corse crew then had to make up ground again, managing to move up to fifth place in the closing stages. In addition to a top-5 overall, which in itself was a crowning achievement, there was also the podium in the FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams, a trophy reserved for private teams entered in the premier Hypercar class.

Gabriele Marazzi (Team Manager): "We are proud of the great work done by the whole team. We prepared hard for this first round in the short time available and the track verdict was on our side. All the guys worked very well, making ten perfect pit stops. Robert, Yifei and Robert kept a very fast race pace and got the best 

possible result. Now we have to continue on this path and aim for even higher results at our home race in Imola".

Robert Kubica: "My first race with AF Corse and in the Hypercar class has just finished. It was a long and intense week, during which we all worked very hard, getting almost as much as we could. I am convinced that we can always do better, but considering the short time we had to prepare, today we achieved something to be proud of. I want to thank the guys for the great work they have done over the past few months, also because they haven't had many hours of rest over the past few nights. Now we go home to recharge our batteries and prepare better for the next rounds”.

Robert Shwartzman: “The result at the end of the 1812 KM, my first ever race in the top endurance class, is certainly positive. After practice and qualifying, we knew the race wouldn’t be easy, and that’s how it turned out. However, we should be happy as a team with fifth place and second in the team standings. It’s a shame because I collided with a LMGT3 car during my stint, which meant we had to change the rear wing, costing us 30 precious seconds”.

Yifei Ye: “I am really delighted to have taken fifth place here in Qatar in my first race with Ferrari. The race wasn’t easy. There were a lot of highs and lows, but we managed every situation well and secured this clearly positive result. We bid farewell to Lusail, aware we’ve done an excellent job and, at the same time, know that we have to continue working because there is plenty of scope for improvement ahead of Imola”.