James Calado: New team mate settling in quickly

The No.51 AF Corse Ferrari has had a positive start to the 2017 season, but Le Mans is of course the race that can make such a difference to any team or driver’s championship campaign. 

James Calado has had a new team mate this year in Alessandro Pier Guidi, but the Italian brought with him Ferrari GT experience and has fitted in seamlessly, as evidenced by the duo’s two podium finishes from the first two rounds of the year.

The announcement of their endurance team mate for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Lucas di Grassi, surprised some and, with the official Test Day now done and dusted, how did the Brazilian fare?

“It’s really fantastic that we have Lucas on board,” said Calado, “because obviously he’s one of the best drivers in the world, and to have him on our #51 crew is a bonus in terms of hopefully getting a good result at Le Mans. 

“He’s got the experience here, he’s adapted well and quickly to the Ferrari, plus he’s really nice guy and good to work with, so we are very happy as a team to have him here. 

“I think especially at Le Mans his experience with Audi Sport will be helpful to him as a GTE competitor.  Speed isn’t always what wins you the race, we have seen that anything can happen at Le Mans.  Lucas is extremely experienced and everything is so far running smoothly. 

“GT is of course completely different to LMP1, with more weight in the car and a different driving style needed.  We’ve given him a little advice on the electronics on the steering wheel to make sure he knows all the settings, and on driver changes and so on, but he doesn’t need much advice.  He’s quickly adapting and doing a really good job.”   

Just did my first laps at Le Mans with a GT car. Quite fun but not used to get overtaken! I'm happy to be back. #LeMans #FIAWEC #LM24

— LUCAS DI GRASSI (@LucasdiGrassi) June 4, 2017