Ferrari win Le Mans 24 Hours for first time in 58 years with forgotten F1 star behind wheel but Jenson Button struggles
EX-FORMULA 1 star Antonio Giovinazzi has led Ferrari to their first Le Mans 24 Hours victory in 58 YEARS.
The Italian racing team had not won the iconic French event since 1965.
But with the help of former Alfa Romeo F1 driver Giovinazzi, 29, Ferrari triumphed on Sunday.
He was part of a three-man team which also included Britain’s James Calado and fellow Italian Alessandro Pier Guidi.
Le Mans consists of teams racing without any intervals for a full 24 hours.
The three drivers in each team take it in turns to drive their respective car around the track.
The winner is the team that has covered the most distance at the end of the 24 hours.
Giovinazzi was on the F1 grid in 2017 and then for three more seasons between 2019 and 2021.
He drove for Sauber and Alfa Romeo, starting 62 races and claiming 21 points.
Britain’s Jenson Button, who won the Formula 1 world title in 2009, made his first appearance in Le Mans this year.
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But he could only manage 33rd place out of 62 teams with Hendricks Motorsports.
Outside of F1, Le Mans is seen as one of the major races to win to be considered one of the great drivers.
Fernando Alonso, who has returned to F1 in recent years, has won the day-long endurance event on two occasions.
The Indy 500 and Daytona Classic are other races in the same bracket.
And Button has claimed the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen need to quit F1 and compete in Le Mans before they can be considered the best in the world.
Speaking to The Times, he said: “There’s every possibility that Max [Verstappen] could go down as the greatest but I like the idea that you can’t be the best driver in the world if you haven’t stepped outside of F1.
“Fernando has done a phenomenal job. He left F1 and came and raced in Le Mans and Daytona, won both, then won Le Mans again.
“I don’t think his performance has dropped away in his forties.”