![Ferrari 499P #51 takes pole position in qualifying for the opening WEC race, where 18 hypercars were entered [Video]](https://wheelfeed.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2265-1761196187804.jpg)
Ferrari 499P
Ferrari maintains strong form from practice
The Ferrari 499P showed speed surpassing its rivals from the practice stage. After setting the fastest time in qualifying and the hyperpole, car number 51 secured pole position. The photo shows the three drivers of car number 51, from left to right: Guidi, Calado, and Giovinazzi.
The opening round, the Qatar 1812km, took place at the Lusail International Circuit. 18 cars from 9 manufacturers gathered in the top Hypercar class. The official qualifying and Hyperpole races on February 27th, which determined the grid for the final race, were held in dry conditions with an air temperature of 15.7°C. Ferrari, which had been showing good form since the practice stage, recorded the top time of 1 minute 38.587 seconds in the 12-minute qualifying session with the No. 51 “499P”.
Their teammate, the #50 car (Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Niklas Nielsen), followed with a 1m 38.609s, giving Ferrari a monopoly on the top two spots on the results board, while satellite team AF Corse’s #83 car (Robert Kubica, Ye Yifei and Philip Hansson) also qualified for hyperpole with the sixth-fastest time of 1m 39.326s.
In the Hyperpole, where ten hypercars competed for the top ten grid positions over ten minutes, Antonio Giovinazzi, who was in charge of the attack in car number 51, recorded a time of 1 minute 38.587 seconds to take pole position, and for the fifth time in a row, Ferrari decided to start from the front of the grid. Giovinazzi reflected on qualifying and the Hyperpole as follows:
“Starting from the front row is the result of great teamwork over the past few days. I’m really thrilled to have secured pole position and I’d like to thank my teammates and the whole team again. I put in some good laps in qualifying but we knew the Hyperpole would be a big challenge. The race will be tough as well and we’ll need to perform all our tasks perfectly.”
Car No. 50 will start from the second row
Ferrari aimed to monopolize the front row, but the No. 50 car fell just short of the No. 15 BMW, qualifying in third place and starting the race from the second row.
Antonio Fuoco was in charge of the attack in the No. 50 car, aiming to monopolize the front row. He dropped his time slightly from qualifying, and was just one step behind the No. 15 BMW M Hybrid V8 (Dries Vanthoor, Rafael Marciello, Kevin Magnussen), finishing third with a time of 1 minute 38.692 seconds.
“We will be starting from the second row, but this is not a bad position to start in a difficult race like Qatar. We have proven over the past few days that we are competitive, and we hope to put in a strong performance in the final race, our first race of the season,” said Fuoco, expressing his enthusiasm for the final race.
The third car, the No. 83, was driven by Robert Kubica and recorded a time of 1 minute 39.299 seconds. The car will start the final race from the 8th position on the grid.
