Comments at the end of the 6 Hours of Imola

A thunderous roar rose to the sky at the end of the Inno di Mameli (the Italian national anthem). It was the voice of the tifosi – out in force beneath the podium at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari to celebrate the victory of the number 51 499P. The comments of the key figures, collected at the end of the race, convey both the joy of a historic moment and the desire for redemption felt by the crew of the number 50 499P.

Antonio Giovinazzi: “Finally, a win! To achieve it on home turf makes it even more extraordinary. It’s been a perfect weekend – right from the free practice sessions, then the pole position and now this win. It was a long race, but we were well aware of the car’s potential and made no mistakes, neither in terms of strategy nor tyre management. My teammates were excellent, just as the whole team was, and we’re enjoying this moment together.”

James Calado: “This is one of the finest wins of my career, because I’d never stood on the top step of the podium in front of our own tifosi before. It’s an incredible feeling and I’m proud we managed to return to winning ways after such a long time – and to do it here at home. Today we made the most of our potential, had a bit of luck, and executed a perfect strategy. As a team we did an outstanding job, and we dedicate this success to our wonderful tifosi.”

Alessandro Pier Guidi: “I’m pleased with this win – we’ve been chasing it for a long time and without doubt we deserved it. Already last season, for one reason or another, we came close on several occasions without quite getting there. And there’s nothing better than clinching this victory in front of our tifosi, here at Imola. After the win at Le Mans, I missed standing on the top step of the podium, but I wasn’t worried because I always focus on the end goal rather than partial results. If I’d had to choose one race to return to the top, it would have been Imola.”

Nicklas Nielsen: “After a strong first part of the race where we fought our way back from eighteenth to fourth, things got tricky for us despite a solid strategy and the car showing good pace. We were unlucky with the Virtual Safety Car, and then we had contact which led to a puncture. It’s a shame, because we came to Imola aiming to score points in the drivers’ standings after our win in Qatar.”

Miguel Molina: “I think today’s race was really tough for our crew. Nicklas did two fantastic opening stints, and then we tried to gain positions by making the most of the best tyre strategy we could find – but we weren’t able to stay in contention at the top of the standings. It’s disappointing to leave Imola like this, but it’s only the second round, so we’ll keep working hard and looking ahead with confidence. Congratulations to our teammates on a fantastic win in front of the Italian tifosi.”

Antonio Fuoco: “Today we were tasked with a tough challenge, and the race played out in a very unpredictable way. Imola is a beautiful but demanding circuit when it comes to overtaking, so staging a comeback wasn’t easy. I believe we could have been in contention for a top-five place – maybe even the podium – but unfortunately things didn’t go the way we’d hoped.”

Antonello Coletta, Global Head of Endurance and Corse Clienti: “The satisfaction is immense with this victory in Italy for the number 51 499P in front of our tifosi. After our Qatar one-two-three, today reaffirmed how effective our winter development work has been. At Imola, we’d obviously hoped for stronger results with the other two cars, but for different reasons, we couldn’t achieve what we’d targeted. We take home a second win from as many races this season. My compliments to the whole team for the excellent job they did, as demonstrated on Saturday, for example, when we managed to substitute the engine of the number 83 in just one hour and 45 minutes – in time for qualifying – and secured a second place on the starting grid. This is undoubtedly a strong moment for us, but we can’t relax: there are six more rounds ahead, including the biggest challenge at Le Mans.”

Ferdinando Cannizzo, Head of Ferrari Endurance Race Cars: “This result rewards all the efforts made and reflects the incredible work and determination of the entire team. I’m disappointed we couldn’t put the number 50 499P on the podium due to the puncture, but the strategy we’d set to move it up the order was working very well. The number 51 crew delivered a flawless performance—despite the race being complex and the competition, as expected, extremely strong, we executed everything perfectly. Now we look ahead, aware that more tough races await, but with this spirit, I’m confident we’ll achieve further success.”