Is Ferrari working on a LMP1 car?

Well, the title says it all. I read somewhere on the internet that Ferrari is working on a comeback in Le Mans (WEC). I hope so, it's such a shame they let prototype racing go...

Thijs

 

I highly doubt it

Ferrari ran away from LeMans after Ford & Porsche kicked their but

 

Af corse is competing and winning in lmp2 this year, although with a Nissan.

Preparation?

Maserati would be more suited for LeMans though.

 

I recall reading Piero Ferrari stating that he wanted to see Ferrari back in Le Mans - can't seem to find it now.

The F50 GT1 was supposed to be a Le Mans effort, correct?

 

"I read somewhere on the internet" doesn't inspire much confidence that the rumor is even close to be true...

...which is disappointing, because I would really really love for this to be true.

I can't see it happening though, even though a few years ago Luca CdM was at La Sarthe saying Ferrari would consider it if the F1 rules didn't change and all that nonsense Ferrari always spews when things aren't going their way.

Napolis has outlined here before that the V12 is practically impossible to race competitively, and that would be an issue for them, I think. The latest LMP1 rumor marginally linked to Ferrari was that Jim released a few sketches of a P4/5 LMP car, which wouldn't be Ferrari powered, but that would be feasible. Would be nice if it were Ferrari powered, though.

 

Maserati will be returning to the WEC I believe.

 

I would love to see it happen, but I'm not holding my breath.

Ferrari has plenty of balls up in the air with F1 and the 458GT. That's not to say that they couldn't out-source to Michelotto or Dallara as they have in the past, but even Ferrari (or their partners) don't have an infinite capacity.

CW

 

I think all the GT2 and GT3 spec 458s are already done by Michelotto.

it would be great to see a proper P1 project by Ferrari, especially with Porsche headed back to P1; but I doubt we'll see it happen

 

+1

Trouble is, should they come in with a big ol' petrol motor (or a hybrid? ) they'll just get BOP'd to the back of the field.

Waste of time, money, energy and talent IMO.....

Hey, Porsche, Audi, Peugeot and and all you wanna be's, wanna play with the big boys? Come play in the big pond, not some BS where you get BOP'd every race....

Cheers,
Ian

 

They are, based on my understanding, all manufactured at Michelotto. I don't know to what extent they were designed and/or engineered at SpA v. Michelotto. I imagine Michelotto did a fair bit of it, but if any is coming from SpA, it draws resources. Maybe not an amount of resources such that the drain would cause issues in the F1 program, but nevertheless if it's taking resources away, it's diminishing the Scuderia's chances.

Not to mention, modern LMP1 cars are virtually cost-no-object. I've said it before, but Audi spent (and spends) "space shuttle" money on their program. And, who knows what Porsche is going to spend. To be competitive, SpA will have to spend, too. There may well be synergies and the opportunity to take F1 knowledge and apply it to LMP (as, often, the modern LMP is characterized as a two-seat F1 car), but designing an entirely new tub and aero package isn't inexpensive if you're aiming to be at the front row.

And, does a contractor like Michelotto have pockets deep enough to do this unassisted? I rather doubt it.

CW

 

Well Porsche is back now...so we have to wait if Ferrari is going to make any move.

 

Ferrari left before Porsche was even relevant at La Sarthe.

I don't think that was what what they were waiting for.

 

Not gonna happen anytime soon

 

The last ones who tried to run F1 and Le Mans programmes at the same time were Mercedes-Benz. And everybody knows how that ended: on a tree.

 

Keep in mind VW is one of the biggest Auto Cos on the planet. Maybe 1 of the biggest Cos period.

Michelotto doesn't stand a chance against Audi, Lambo, Bentley, VW etc

 

agree, the resources do have to come from somewhere, and I'm not sure Ferrari (or anyone else) could fund a P1 program out of sponsor dollars alone. and then there's the people, factory, wind tunnel time, etc.

Audi's LMP program is probably as expensive as all but maybe 1 or 2 F1 programs. I've heard numbers up to $300mm/year. very few companies can afford to do that in F1 AND LeMans at the same time, and Fiat/Ferrari ain't one of them

 

Kinda hard to win when you being out spent 100 to one. I think they simply knew that they were outgunned and were not going to get into a spending war they could not win.

 

say what you will about Enzo, he was a brilliant businessman.

 

No question. But you can't beat cubic money. For ever thing Enzo could do....Ford could do 20 more. Its very tough to compete against that kind of money. Indy Car is the perfect example as is the Can Am of the 70's. Both got destroyed because of people spending into oblivion. Same for the Trans Am of the late 60's. Winning at all cost takes things apart faster than anything.

 

Arguably the same applies to today's F1...

 

that was my point

he knew his strengths (F1), he knew where he couldn't compete (endurance sports cars), and ditched the latter for the former.

 

Agree. F1 does play on a larger stage so money can come from all over, but I do think if allowed to continue at the previous levels, it would have done itself in.

 

btw I am surprised that Ferrari hasn't entered the customer P2 segment, a la 333SP.

 

I think F1 is all they want at this point in time.

 

all they have to do is design a car once (P2 is stable enough for one chassis to be good for 5 years or so), hand to Dallara/Michelotto/etc for production, and reap the $$$$$.

I think it could be a good profit center and PR center (class wins at Sebring/Le Mans/Spa/etc etc)

it would also be a great way to "trade up" guys from Challenge and GTE-AM into prototypes while keeping them in the Ferrari brand (think AF Corse and ESM)