Ferrari's Front Row Lockout at Imola 6 Hours Overshadowed by Technical Concerns
Ferrari secured a front-row lockout for their home FIA WEC race at Imola, but the day came with mixed fortunes for the Italian manufacturer.
Antonio Giovinazzi claimed an impressive pole position in the No. 51 car, setting a lap time nearly 0.8 seconds faster than the competition. However, two significant issues emerged with Ferrari's other entries.
Race car speeds on racetrack
The privately entered No. 83 AF Corse 499P required a precautionary engine change following a failure during free practice three. While Robert Kubica managed to secure second place in qualifying with the new engine, questions remain about its race performance reliability.
Meanwhile, the No. 50 car faces a major setback after track limit violations during qualifying resulted in deleted lap times. This relegated Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen, and Miguel Molina to 18th position - last in the Hypercar class. Fuoco expressed frustration about the timing of the lap deletion, which left no opportunity for another attempt.
The challenging nature of Imola's tight, twisty circuit makes overtaking difficult, presenting a significant hurdle for the No. 50 team's recovery efforts. While Ferrari dominated with a 1-2-3 finish in Qatar's opening round, replicating that success at their home race now seems less certain.
The race will reveal whether Ferrari can overcome these challenges and deliver a strong performance for their home crowd, despite the mixed qualifying session results.