Ferrari 499P
Giovinazzi in car number 51 records a good time
In the first 90-minute official practice session, the #94 Peugeot 9X8 recorded the top time of 1 minute 50.837 seconds. Ferrari’s #51 Giovinazzi recorded the third-fastest time of 1 minute 51.041 seconds.
The Bahrain 8 Hours will see the Ferrari AF Corse works team competing in the No. 50 (Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Niklas Nielsen) and No. 51 (Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi) cars, as well as the satellite team AF Corse No. 83 (Robert Kubica, Robert Shwartzman, Yifei Ye).
Official practice took place at the Bahrain International Circuit on October 31st, and a fierce battle for time unfolded from the very first day. In the two three-hour practice sessions, car No. 50 completed 77 laps, car No. 51 78 laps, and car No. 83 79 laps.
The first official practice session started at 12:15 pm local time. It was held in dry conditions with an air temperature of 31°C and a track temperature of 39°C. Fuoco was the first to take the wheel of car 499P No. 50, followed by Molina and Nielsen. In car No. 51, Giovinazzi, Calado and Guidi drove in that order, continuing to test the sandy Sakhir track surface.
At the end of the 90-minute session, Giovinazzi had the third-fastest time of 1 minute 51.041 seconds, Fuoco was 13th with a 1 minute 51.966 seconds, and Kubica in the No. 83 car was 17th with a 1 minute 52.262 seconds. Giovinazzi, who recorded the third-fastest time behind the leading Peugeot and second-placed Porsche, reflected on his first run as follows:
“We’ve had some unlucky luck this season with the #51 car and apart from a fantastic podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans we haven’t had any notable results, so we want to finish the season on a high note by scoring as many points as possible. The Manufacturers’ Championship title is still within Ferrari’s reach mathematically and we want to give it our all and contribute to winning the title.”
Ferrari 499P #50 aims for second win of the season
The Ferrari 499P #50 marked the fifth fastest time in the second official practice session, and Fuoco pointed out that “we’re sure to see some unexpected races unfold.”
The second official practice session started at 5:30 pm local time after sunset. The temperature was lower than in the first session, and as the final race on Saturday, November 2nd will be held from daytime until sunset, the practice session took place in conditions similar to those in the latter half of the race. Each team used this opportunity to test settings that they would use in preparation for the final race.
Giovinazzi in car #51 recorded the fastest time of the Ferraris with a time of 1 minute 48.472 seconds, placing him in third place, just 0.215 seconds behind the leading BMW M Hybrid V8 car #15. Fuoco in car #50 was fifth with a time of 1 minute 48.701 seconds, and Jéré in car #83 was 14th with a time of 1 minute 49.709 seconds. Fuoco in car #50, who is aiming for his second win of the season since the fourth round, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, spoke of his enthusiasm for the final race:
“As always, we gave it our all and took to the track. The 8 Hours of Bahrain will undoubtedly be a tough race. Our rivals have been very competitive all season and will be determined to come to the final race. We are preparing for all possibilities and will be racing for a long time. As we have seen in previous seasons, Bahrain can be full of surprises.”
