499P at Le Mans, Pier Guidi analyses the French circuit

Round four of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship takes place at Circuit de la Sarthe in France, the stage for the most important race of the season: the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Alessandro Pier Guidi, winner of the Centenary edition of the 24 Hours in 2023 with the Ferrari 499P he shared with James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi, describes the iconic track that has hosted the world’s most famous endurance marathon since 1923: “Le Mans is one of the most beautiful circuits and one I’m especially fond of, both because we’ve achieved extraordinary results in France and because I love high-speed tracks,” says the 1983-born driver, who has also won Le Mans twice in GT cars – in 2019 and 2021 with the 488 GTE, always alongside Calado.

Mixing long straights, high-speed corners and heavy braking zones, the 13.626-kilometre circuit, with its 38 turns, is truly unique. “After the start/finish straight we approach the first corner, a right-hander where braking is tricky because it’s easy to lock the outside wheels,” explains Pier Guidi. “Then comes the first chicane, where it’s important to ride the kerbs without damaging the car, followed by a sequence of esses that are challenging due to the changes in elevation.”

This section leads into the iconic Tertre Rouge corner, which feeds onto the Mulsanne straight – also known as the Hunaudières: “In the past we’ve hit 347 km/h there,” continues the Italian driver. Then comes the first chicane: “You approach it with heavy braking, and it’s tricky because the car’s low-downforce setup means you have to be very precise.” The same applies to the second chicane. After another fast section, the Hypercar reaches the iconic Mulsanne corner, “where the key is how you combine braking, corner entry under braking and exit speed – that’s what makes the difference in terms of not losing valuable tenths.”

According to the official Ferrari driver, one of the most beautiful sections is the following Indianapolis esses: “You go in at very high speed, just brush the brakes in the first kink, then prepare for the second left-hand turn, where you brake much harder.” From there, the cars head into the only truly slow corner at Le Mans, Arnage, which “only seems simple – in reality, it’s very tricky, especially on entry, where it’s really easy to lock the rear wheels.”

The cars then tackle the final sector. Exiting Arnage, a straight leads into “one of the most fun sequences – several corners in a row where managing tyre grip is vital,” before preparing for the Karting esses, “where you clip the left-hand kerb slightly and let the car flow to carry speed into Raccordement, keeping it balanced so you can rejoin the start/finish straight and complete the lap.”