Ferrari AF Corse looks set to start the 2025 FIA WEC season with its 2024-spec 499P, though development work in background on its double Le Mans-winning Hypercar is ongoing according to the program’s senior management.
Speaking with reporters during Finali Mondiali, Ferdinando Cannizzo – Ferrari’s head of endurance race cars – explained that the team completed a multi-day test with the 499P at Barcelona recently, in part to prepare for the season finale in Bahrain, but also to sample potential updates for the car.
However, any new evolutions (Evo ‘Jokers’), he explained, are not expected to debut any time soon.
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“Clearly we have continuous development ongoing, time to time we have bits that we are testing on the car and of course, we did a lot of work on the setup side in Barcelona to prepare for Bahrain and understand what we could have done better in Fuji,” he said.
“It’s a wide work we arrange when we have the opportunity to test the car on track, carry on the development and understand how we can better exploit the current car.
“We are looking at all the possible areas of the car, suspension, engine, power unit, aero, and bodywork, but every action is meant to reduce the gap that we see in our car or areas we would like to improve.
“There are very specific interventions to close or remove weaknesses.”
As for the timing of its potential updates to the car, Antonello Coletta, Ferrari’s sportscar racing boss, addressed this during his press conference at Finali Mondiali. He said the update(s) (if signed off) could come as early as next season, but wouldn’t be drawn into specifics, leaving a 2026 debut on the table as a potential option.
“We have many ideas but we need time to get to know the car. We need to use our tokens wisely, test in the simulator and be careful with tweaks,” he added.
Should Ferrari roll out the update(s) it is working on for the 499P in the future, it would be the second Evo ‘Joker’ package for the car.
Earlier this season the Italian factory team debuted a redesign of the 499P’s brake cooling ducts to alter the flow distribution and ensure better cooling efficiency, as well as a “flick” under the front headlamps to help the aero balance.
Three races on from the introduction of these changes the Ferrari drivers RACER has spoken to all agree that the car doesn’t feel different behind the wheel. However, Cannizzo believes the changes are working as intended and should provide Ferrari a boost in Bahrain, as the Bahrain International Circuit is both hard on the brakes and located in a warmer climate.
“We are pretty happy with brake cooling, it is well balanced and we will enjoy Bahrain because it will be very tough in this aspect,” he said.
“Now we are trying to understand how to tune the set-up because we were forced to change a bit to balance the car around this brake duct modification.
“The aero changed a bit, so we are working out how to rearrange the car set-up. But generally, we are pretty satisfied.”