A lot of progress has to be done in that field; the race interruptions were both too long, and clumsy. Also, lots of confusion between double yellow, full course yellow, slow zones, safety car periods, etc... It looked like the ACO was experimenting all their "solutions", but the drivers didn't understand sometimes. A couple of accidents were caused by poor execution by the race direction, IMO. I am not sure the "pass-around" method is necessary, it only slows down the return to green.
So I think this win does demonstrate something: Just how hard it is to compete and win in Formula one. The Ferrari team jumped right into this and won the big race. These are to a large degree the same engineers, technicians, mechanics, etc as the F 1 team. Maybe not the same exact people but from the same pool. I'm sure there was some sharing of information and experience and talent. Ferrari has been struggling in F1 for 15+ years being a so-so even after putting tons of money and effort into the F1 program. For them to win LeMans like this shows not how easy it is to win LeMans (because it isn't) but just how difficult the competition is in F1.
I had the good fortune to start my in-person race spectating “career” at the dawn of Ferrari’s entry to the mid-engine sports racing era….Sebring, 1963. No only did they take the win first time out, but it was John Surtees (with Scarfiotti) who won the race in his debut for the Scuderia. There were a few more successes, but soon enough The Great Le Mans Drought began. I’m glad I’m around to see it end.
F1 doesn't have BoP or a multiyear homologation. Only so much can be done to further develop these cars. Sent from my SM-G970U using FerrariChat.com mobile app
They would sell every one they built. Most would sit in a garage. Part of the issue is being able to support those racing and tracking. Both spare parts and technology wise. Sent from my SM-G970U using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Pretty sure that was for running the car. The LMDh cars were supposed to be a lot cheaper to develop bc of the spec hybrid and semi spec chassis. Sent from my SM-G970U using FerrariChat.com mobile app
It was quoted over the weekend..8 customer cars next year, 4 of those being full time IMSA. Additional planned for 2025. They already have the teams chosen but not announced. Sent from my SM-G970U using FerrariChat.com mobile app
I go to several IMSA races each year. Always a great time. Come out and enjoy! Sent from my SM-G970U using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Please be specific about what rule was changed last minute and what was rigged. Sent from my SM-G970U using FerrariChat.com mobile app
No. What it demonstrates is that in F1 when one team hits the lottery during a rules change cycle, the other teams are handicapped by idiotic bans and constrains on development and testing, and stay a step behind them for the duration of the rules cycle. Happened with Mercedes, it's happening with Red Bull. Teams in WEC and IMSA are given much more freedom to build car concepts they're more comfortable with, and then afforded much more testing and development time as opposed to F1, which is dangerously close to a spec series where winners are decided by the luck of the draw in narrow rule cycles. It ain't the F1 I grew up with, that's for sure. That's why BMW, Toyota, Peugeot, and several others are no longer interested in participating.
I think Ferrari will certainly invest more in WEC and IMSA going forward, as they're able to build cars more relevant to their interests, and contract other teams for the race operations side, which means less drama and politics. I do think it's a matter of time before some on the WEC side are brought over to the F1 department. It's an obvious place for Vasseur to hire.
So we went from 5 hypercars last year to 16 this year. Next year I believe all or most of these expect to be at Le Mans: Acura, Alpine, BMW, Isotta-Fraschini, Lamborghini; does anyone know of any others? If there are more customer cars, there might be 30 hypercars on the grid! No wonder the ACO is eliminating the LMP2 class......
We'll probably see Honda enter their Acura squad next year. Truly amazing to see this rebirth of sportscars.
Formula One economy looks like a speculative bubble right now. I really don’t know how all of this will survive years of total domination by the duo Red Bull / Verstappen ? Tickets prices are just delirious, people don’t have any access to drivers or teams etc … WEC is a lot more seductive proposition right now for constructors and spectators believe me.
Very difficult to deal with more than 60 cars around a 13km long track.. With night, rain etc.. To be honest I found ACO pretty efficient with all the track problems years after years.
On top of that, it looks like the Laferrari replacement typo F250 will have a very close powertrain compared with a 499P ..
Sadly f1 is broken, Budget caps, Engine limits etc etc. then you have the Governing bodies double standard etc RB breach the Budget cap as did AM and all they got was a slap on the hand and then bang from the start of the next season both are much fast than the year before. Had Ferrari Breach they would have been sent back to the stone age. The rules and limits now mean once a team gets ahead its years before anyone is able to catch up. Mercedes and Redbull have shown that. What Ferrari and MS did was hard work 24/7 for years to stay ahead. F1 is no longer the pinnacle of Motorsport. The new hyper prototypes and GT3s are returning us to the great old era of racing and I am loving it. F1 has been get worse for over 10 years now. It needs a full reboot.
one day of racing is better than anything F1 these days it was fun exciting and both team give it all to win..nobody rant about their tires going off after just 5 laps it just racing from 2 teams fighting for the win for almost 22 hours not only that other teams the poojoe the cadillac porsche in the mix a little while other class fight it out all the way cant say the regulation is fair for everyone..toyota is pissed with the last min BOP change but what we get its good racing afterall and im entertained glad ferrari win it and i get to watch great battle
Increased weight for the Toyota and use of tyre blankets. That doesn't mean that the win was a gift. The others were given less weight than the Ferraris and still didn't win. Also Toyota was still slightly faster but made some mistakes. But we can't deny that ACO made some arbitrary changes to spice up the race; probably they didn't expect such a big change.
The Blankets helped all teams including Toyota, They were added due to safety concerns after the cold and wet caused a lot of tire related issues for the hypercars at Spa. however for the remaining much shorter races the blankets are still banned it was a one race exception. I think it was a smart call for all involved. There would have been a lot more safe cars periods meaning a lot less racing followed by a lot less cars at the end if they had not lift the ban for one race. As for the BoP we all knew before the race that LM set their own BoP for the race. So no rigging at all...... The BoP didn't really change anything at LM for any of the teams. Ferrari had closed the gap to Toyota in Spa and had it not been for the dodgy safety Car call outs they would have lost there too. Toyota would have been lapped by Ferrari due to there tire mistake at the start. But given the Toyota Gazoo Racing brand was plastered all around the track I believe they were given a life line. Toyota are use to stress free Winning. Now Ferrari has come along with an amazing Team and Package which is only going to get better putting Toyota under a ton of pressure which accounts for the mistakes and bad calls they have made in the last 2 races. Sadly when a team get use to Winning and winning well they get soft.
