Ferrari loses Hypercar podium finish due to tyre penalty
The #51 Ferrari – long-time leader of yesterday’s Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain (2 November) – has lost its runner-up finish in the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship season finale due to a tyre infringement.
Following a late charge by Antonio Giovinazzi, the Ferrari AF Corse 499P the Italian shares with James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi took the chequered flag second at Bahrain International Circuit – the crew’s best result of the campaign – but it has since been demoted to 14th place, and last of the Hypercar finishers, for having been found to have exceeded its maximum authorised tyre allocation.
After a stewards’ meeting, the car had 4min 55sec added to its total race time (equivalent to two stop-and-go penalties of two minutes each) for contravening Article 6.5.4 of the WEC Sporting Regulations by using two tyres more than the permitted total of 26.
The penalty elevates the #5 Porsche Penske Motorsport car to second in the final results, and the #93 Team Peugeot TotalEnergies entry to third.