No. 50 Ferrari disqualified from Le Mans after technical infringement

The No. 50 Ferrari 499P of Nicklas Nielsen, Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina has been stripped of fourth place from the 24 Hours of Le Mans after failing post-race checks, the stewards announced late on Monday.

According to the findings presented to the stewards, the rear wing support recorded a deflection of 52mm, far above the 15mm threshold permitted by Article 3.8.7 of the 2025 Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) Technical Regulations. 

Post-race inspection also that four bolts were missing from the rear wing support structure, violating the car's homologation.

The stewards also noted that a mechanic had spotted one missing bolt on the car during the last pitstop, but the team took no corrective action against it.

In its defence, Ferrari argued that the excessive deflection was caused by missing bolts and that no performance was gained.

The stewards, however, stated that the car achieved its top speed on lap 380 out of 387, after it had lost bolts from the rear wing.

They also added that the rear wing on the No. 50 car presented a “potential risk” as it could have suffered a structural failure at high speed.

Nielsen, Fuoco and Molina had finished on the cusp of the podium in the second of the two factory Ferraris after a late battle with the No. 51 car driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi.

The penalty promotes the No. 12 Cadillac V-Series.R of Norman Nato, Alex Lynn and Will Stevens to fourth place, while the No. 7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid shared by Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries and Mike Conway moves up to fifth.

The 10th and the final points-paying position goes to Mick Schumacher, Fred Makowiecki and Jules Gounon in the No. 36 Alpine.

Full stewards statement:

Following post-race scrutineering, Car No. 50 was found not to comply with the applicable technical regulations. The identified irregularities were:

• Missing Components on Rear Wing Support: Four bolts were found to be missing from the rear wing support, as per the car's homologation form. The Team Manager confirmed and accepted the non-compliance with the homologation specifications.
• Rear Wing Deflection: A rear wing deflection of 52 mm was recorded during the post-race test, while Article 3.8.7 of the LMH Technical Regulations sets the maximum permissible deflection at 15 mm. The Team Manager accepted the result and confirmed the correctness of the test procedure carried out by the scrutineers. The Competitor did not dispute the measurement.

Arguments of the Competitor: During the hearing, the Competitor stated that the excessive deflection was linked to the missing bolts and claimed no performance gain was achieved. They further explained that during the last pit stop at 15:23, a mechanic noticed the absence of only one bolt on the rear wing support, but no corrective action was taken before the end of the race. This decision was made after reviewing the car telemetry, which allegedly showed no change in the car's speed. The Stewards noted that Car 50 achieved its highest top speed on lap 380 out of 387.

Sanction and its proportionality: It is established jurisprudence in motorsport that non-compliance with technical regulations leads to disqualification, unless exceptional circumstances are proven, which was not claimed in this case. Moreover, the scrutineers considered the rear wing assembly's non-compliance to present a potential safety risk. Specifically, the irregular and incomplete assembly of the rear wing support presents a risk of structural failure under high-speed stress or fatigue, which cannot be overlooked. For these reasons, and pursuant to the applicable sporting and technical regulations, Car No. 50 is disqualified from the final classification of the race.

Competitors are reminded of their right to appeal certain decisions of the Stewards, in accordance with Article 15 of the FIA International Sporting Code and Chapter 4 of the FIA Judicial and Disciplinary Rules, within the applicable time limits.

Nicklas Nielsen, Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina had finished on the cusp of the podium in the second of the two factory Ferraris after a late battle with the sister car driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi.

However, the No. 50 car that won Le Mans last year has now been thrown out of the results for failing to comply with the technical rules.

Post-race inspection revealed that four bolts were missing from the rear wing support structure