Ferrari centre stage at free practice in Qatar

At the Lusail International Circuit, the opening day of free practice sessions kicked off the first week of the FIA World Endurance Championship 2025. The three hours of track action saw the number 50 and 51 499P cars from the official Ferrari – AF Corse team take centre stage, with Pier Guidi-Calado-Giovinazzi setting the fastest time in the morning session and Fuoco-Molina-Nielsen securing second place in the afternoon.

FP1. The opening 90-minute session, contested with air and track temperatures of approximately 18 and 28 °C, saw excellent performances from the red-liveried 499P cars. Pier Guidi-Calado-Giovinazzi set the fastest lap, with the British driver clocking a 1’42’’123 marker (on his 20th lap out of 37 completed). The sister car, the number 50 499P, driven by Fuoco-Molina-Nielsen, finished third, stopping the clocks at 1’42’’397, with the Spanish driver setting the time on his 28th lap out of 39 completed.

During the session, interrupted only by a brief red flag and a Full Course Yellow with ten minutes remaining before the chequered flag, car lap times remained extremely close, with the top seven crews covered by less than eight tenths of a second.

The yellow-liveried number 83 Ferrari, entrusted to official Prancing Horse driver Ye, alongside Kubica and Hanson, finished ninth. The trio completed 30 laps, with the Briton, in his first season as an AF Corse driver, recording the best time of 1’42’’730.

FP2. In the afternoon the cars returned on track beneath the floodlights of Lusail, with cooler temperatures, dropping to 16°C in the air and 19.7°C on the asphalt in the final stages. The 499P cars once again proved competitive: Fuoco posted the second-fastest time in the number 50 Ferrari, stopping the clock at 1’39’’906, just 0’’305 behind the number 12 Cadillac, which led the session.

The number 51 499P finished fifth, with Giovinazzi setting the team's best lap at 1’40’’314. The two crews completed 41 and 39 laps, respectively.

The AF Corse-entered number 83 499P finished eighth, with Robert Kubica setting the best lap at 1’40’’712. The Giallo Modena-liveried car completed 39 laps in the session.

The programme. On Thursday, 27 February, following Free Practice 3 from 12 to 1 p.m., Qualifying will take place from 5.40 p.m., followed by the Hyperpole for the Hypercar class at 6 p.m. The 1812 km of Qatar will start on Friday, 28 February, at 2 p.m. and conclude ten hours later (local times).