Ferrari 499Ps Qualify Seventh, Tenth and Eleventh for São Paulo 6 Hours
Ferrari's three 499P Hypercars will start the São Paulo 6 Hours from the fourth, fifth and sixth rows after qualifying seventh, tenth and eleventh at Interlagos.
- 1:23.387
- 0.346 seconds
- 0.059 seconds
- 0.042 seconds
What Happened
In qualifying for the São Paulo 6 Hours, the fastest Ferrari was the number 50 499P driven by Antonio Fuoco, who posted a lap of 1:23.524 to finish third in the qualifying session, just 0.042 seconds off the lead. That earned him a spot in Hyperpole, where he improved to a 1:23.387 to secure seventh place, 0.346 seconds from pole. The number 83 Ferrari of Robert Kubica qualified eighth in qualifying with a 1:23.683 and then took tenth in Hyperpole with a 1:23.625. The number 51 Ferrari of Antonio Giovinazzi missed Hyperpole by just 0.059 seconds, finishing 11th overall with a 1:23.832, relegating it to the sixth row.
“The feeling with the car in Qualifying was good and I’m fairly pleased with the lap I put together. Then, in Hyperpole, the feeling was a little different and I had more difficulty finding the best lap time. In any case, with the potential we had available, I don’t think I could realistically have aimed for a significantly better position. Now our focus turns to the race: we’re starting from the f”
“I can’t be happy about missing out on Hyperpole. Unfortunately, I made a mistake at Turn 10 and narrowly missed the opportunity to make it into the top ten. Tomorrow we’ll start from the middle of the grid and we’ll have to tackle the race with maximum determination, aiming to score as many points as possible.”
Fuoco (#50) 3rd (1:23.524); Kubica (#83) 8th (1:23.683); Giovinazzi (#51) 11th (1:23.832)
Fuoco (#50) 7th (1:23.387); Kubica (#83) 10th (1:23.625)
Fuoco shares the number 50 car with Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen, while the number 83 is shared by Kubica, Yifei Ye and Phil Hanson. The number 51 car is driven by Giovinazzi, Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado. The race begins tomorrow, 12 July, at 11:30 local time.
Previously from Ferrari N.V.
Ferrari's WEC team arrived at Interlagos aiming to bounce back after a difficult Le Mans and improve on past struggles at the circuit. In free practice, the 499P Hybrids showed competitive pace, setting second and seventh fastest times. That momentum did not fully carry into qualifying, leaving the team with work to do in the race.
- Ferrari 499P Hybrids Finish Second in FP1, Seventh in FP2 at São Paulo 6 Hours
- Ferrari 499P Drivers Seek Redemption at São Paulo 6 Hours After Le Mans Setback
Background drawn from MotorClaw's earlier coverage of Ferrari N.V.'s official releases.
Why this matters
The São Paulo 6 Hours is the fourth round of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship. Ferrari's grid positions, especially missing Hyperpole for the #51 car, put the team on the back foot for a race win, but a long race offers opportunities for strategy and recovery.
Terms in This Story
- Hyperpole
- A final qualifying session for the top 10 drivers, determining the top grid positions.
- Hypercar
- The top class of the FIA World Endurance Championship, using high-performance hybrid prototypes.
- 499P
- Ferrari's Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) contender, a hybrid race car.
- AF Corse
- Ferrari's official partner team in endurance racing, operating the Hypercar entries.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.