FIA WEC 1000M Sebring: Thursday Paddock Notes

LMP1 vs Hypercar pole times

The pace from the #50 AF Corse Ferrari was blistering, and not a million miles from the best laps from an LMP1 car back in 2019.

Back in 2019, the #8 Toyota TS050 managed a best time of 1:40.124 in WEC Qualifying, the fastest lap of the weekend.

Today, Antonio Fuoco’s 1:45.067 is only five seconds off, in a brand-new car, that’s heavier and has significantly less downforce and power than the old breed of LMP1 cars.

Qualifying stat attack

There are so many storylines to follow in tomorrow’s race after a historic Qualifying session this evening in Florida.

Here are some of the key stats from the session:

• AF Corse has now scored a pole position in each of the three current classes in the FIA WEC.
• Ferrari’s 499P scored a pole on its WEC Qualifying debut
• The Ferrari 499P also becomes the fourth different Hypercar to set pole in the FIA WEC (after the Toyota GR010, Glickenhaus 007, Alpine A480)
• This is the first WEC pole for Antonio Fuoco
• In LMP2, it’s the first LMP2 pole for United Autosports since Monza last season
• Sarah Bovy’s performance scored Iron Dames its first FIA WEC pole position with Porsche and its first since Monza last year (with Ferrari)
• It was the first Porsche pole in GTE Am since Le Mans 2021
• Bovy’s pole position lap (1:58.949) was the second fastest GTE Am lap of the weekend, beaten only by Daniel Serra’s FP2 time in the Kessel Ferrari, a 1:58.845

499P onboard footage

Ride on board with a Ferrari 499P around Sebring with the video from the FIA WEC Twitter account:

The first EVER on-board lap of the @FerrariHypercar 499P.

Sound ON. Sit back. And enjoy! #WEC #1000MSebring #FerrariHypercar #Ferrari499P pic.twitter.com/wd2tPDDMl3

— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) March 16, 2023

Top class double duty drivers

This weekend 27 drivers are set to compete in both the FIA WEC 1000 Miles of Sebring and the IMSA 12 Hours of Sebring. In the top classes, eight drivers will race on Friday and Saturday.

From the FIA WEC’s Hypercar class Ferrari drivers Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina are listed for both races, as are Dane Cameron, Michael Christensen and Laurens Vanthoor from Porsche.

In the GTP class, Louis Deletraz, Filipe Albuquerque and Tom Blomqvist all have drives in the WEC’s LMP2 class.

Frijns recovered and is back to full strength

WRT driver Robin Frijns tells DSC he is fully recovered from his wrist injury sustained during the Formula E season opener in Mexico back in January. The Dutchman says he feels fine behind the wheel now after a ‘frustrating’ recovery period.

“I’m fine, it was eight weeks and two days now,” he explained to DSC. “It’s been a difficult recovery for me, as I had five fractures in my wrist. The operation went really well but I wanted to be back for Cape Town three weeks later, but the FIA Doctor said the bone wasn’t healed fully so I couldn’t drive.

“It was the right decision not to race but as a driver, you want to drive. It’s been frustrating sitting at home, I was in contact with the team, but it was definitely the most annoying start to a season I’ve had.

“When I jumped into the car at the Prologue it was hard to get used to it. My wrist was too stiff and I was being too cautious to stop myself from getting hurt. After 10 laps it was fine though, I have no problems.”

Frijns was put in the #31 ORECA for Qualifying this evening, and after a strong performance set the third fastest time in LMP2.

FIA WEC Free Practice 3 live stream pays off

Sebring marked the start of a revamp of a number of aspects of the FIA WEC TV product, including a soon-to-be revealed long-form version of the FIA WEC Full Access programme.

The season was kicked off with live coverage of Free Practice 3, streamed on YouTube, featuring the regular WEC TV on-air crew (Martin Haven, Anthony Davidson, Louise Beckett and Graham Goodwin). With little pre-publicity, the 80-minute show attracted 50,000 live viewers, and at the time of writing this story in late evening on Thursday, the total had reached 200,000.

Weather update

Since DSC arrived in Florida it’s been mostly hot, with 30-degree heat during the afternoons, but there has been rain and cooler temperatures on and off. There has also been the threat of rain over the weekend to contend with.

As it stands tomorrow’s FIA WEC race is set to be run in dry conditions, with a high of 29 degrees expected during the afternoon.

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