Ferrari frustrated by penalties in “tough” Sao Paulo WEC race

Ferrari was left frustrated by a series of race control decisions that compounded an already difficult outing in the Sao Paulo round of the World Endurance Championship.

Having won the opening four rounds of the 2025 WEC, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ferrari was never in contention in Brazil after its trio of 499Ps were hit with Balance of Performance changes that increased the car’s weight and reduced its power.

The No. 50 Ferrari was running ninth in the third hour when it was hit by the No. 33 TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Ben Keating exiting Senna S, sustaining damage to its rear bodywork.

Keating received a 10-second penalty for causing the collision, but race control also issued a black-and-orange flag to the No. 50 Ferrari, forcing AF Corse to call Nicklas Nielsen in to the pits to replace the car’s tail section.

The unscheduled stop cost valuable time and contributed to Nielsen, Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina finishing outside the points in 12th.

Molina questioned the need for intervention by race control, insisting the car was “completely safe” to continue.

"We started from very far back on the grid and did everything we could to recover positions, at least aiming to stay inside the top 10. 

"Then Nicklas was hit by a GT car, which caused rear-end damage to our car, and we were ordered to pit immediately to repair it. In our view, this wasn’t a fair call, as the car was completely safe and we had no issues — but it definitively compromised our race. 

"Now we look ahead to the next round at COTA, where we’ll come back determined to keep our lead in the world championship standings."

The championship-leading No. 51 Ferrari 499P of James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi also endured a bruising race, finishing 11th after being penalised twice.

Calado had started 17th and was already on the back foot after being handed a five-second penalty for a start-line infringement. A further setback came in the final hour when Pier Guidi was handed a drive-through penalty for changing direction more than once while defending against the No. 99 Proton Porsche 963 of Nicolas Varrone.

Calado was critical of the decision post-race.

"We knew this race would be tough for us, and today confirmed it," he said. "We struggled with top speed on the straights, and a few situations went against us — including the penalty we received at the end, which I honestly find hard to understand. 

"We leave Brazil not particularly happy, but we’re still leading the championship and we’ll keep doing our best to defend that position.

Ferrari’s best result came courtesy of its Le Mans-winning customer entry, the No. 83 car driven by Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Phil Hanson, which finished eighth and two laps down on the winning Cadillac.

Given the circumstances, Ferrari felt it had maximised its finishing positions in the race.

“The Sao Paulo weekend was not a positive one, clearly, when we look at the final results,” said Antonello Coletta, Global Head of Ferrari Endurance.

“But once again, I want to commend the entire team for their commitment and flawless work. Despite the challenging conditions we faced in this race – evident from FP1 – we managed to make up ground with all our cars, extracting the maximum from the potential at our disposal.

"It confirms once again that, even in difficult situations, our team knows how to respond in the best possible way.”