Ferrari's three 499Ps head to Barcelona for the first FIA WEC round at Montmeló
The FIA WEC's penultimate 2026 round takes Ferrari's three 499P cars to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which hosts a World Endurance Championship race for the first time on Sunday 18 October.
- 4.657 km
- 14
- 3rd, 115 points, 54 behind the leaders
- 7th, 59 points, 30 behind the leaders
What Happened
The FIA World Endurance Championship returns to action for the penultimate round of the 2026 season at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which hosts a World Endurance Championship round for the first time. The 6 Hours of Barcelona starts at noon local time on Sunday 18 October and takes the seventh slot on the 2026 calendar, replacing the race originally scheduled for Qatar. The official Ferrari – AF Corse team enters two 499P cars, numbers 50 and 51, while privateer team AF Corse runs a third 499P, number 83.
- Number 51: reigning World Drivers' Champions Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi, who finished 10th at the 6 Hours of Fuji and intend to score as many World Championship points as possible.
- Number 50: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen, who retired from the race in Japan.
- Number 83: Prancing Horse official drivers Yifei Ye and Phil Hanson sharing with Robert Kubica; the trio finished outside the top 10 at Fuji.
Ferrari sits third in the Manufacturers' World Championship on 115 points, 54 behind the leaders. In the World Drivers' Championship standings, Pier Guidi, Calado and Giovinazzi are seventh on 59 points, 30 behind the leaders. Fuoco, Molina and Nielsen are ninth, 35 points off the lead, while Ye, Hanson and Kubica are 16th, 58 points behind.
Two 90-minute Free Practice sessions, at 11.30 a.m. and 4.30 p.m.
Free Practice 3 from 12.40 to 1.40 p.m., followed by Hypercar Qualifying at 3.40 p.m. and Hyperpole at 4 p.m.
The six-hour race starts at noon local time.
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya hosts the Finali Mondiali Ferrari.
4.657km
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmeló, around 20 kilometres north-east of Barcelona, has 14 corners: eight right-handers and six left-handers.
The circuit lies in Montmeló, around 20 kilometres north-east of Barcelona, and was inaugurated in 1991 ahead of the Olympic Games the following year. Its 4.657-kilometre layout, featuring 14 corners – eight right-handers and six left-handers – is considered extremely well balanced and is one of the circuits most widely used for both testing and competitions across a variety of sprint and endurance championships. The venue will host the Finali Mondiali Ferrari in November 2026. Thirty-six Formula 1 Grands Prix have been held in Barcelona throughout history.
Why this matters
Barcelona is a brand-new stop on the WEC calendar, slotting in for the race originally scheduled in Qatar, and it gives Ferrari one of its last two chances to cut into its championship deficit. Ferrari is third in the Manufacturers' standings, 54 points behind the leaders, and all three of its 499P crews are chasing points on a circuit staging a WEC round for the first time.
Terms in This Story
- FIA WEC
- The FIA World Endurance Championship, a global sports-car racing series built around long-distance races.
- Hypercar
- The top class of prototype racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship, contested by the fastest cars in the series.
- Hyperpole
- A final, shorter qualifying session held after the main qualifying session to set the leading grid positions.
- privateer
- A team that competes independently rather than being run directly by a manufacturer.
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