Ferrari have claimed that the car disqualified from the Le Mans 24 Hours gained no performance advantage despite being excluded for a flexi-wing breach.

Ferrari collected a third consecutive Le Mans win last weekend as a privately entered 499P car piloted by former F1 star Robert Kubica, along with team-mates Phil Hanson and Yifei Ya, claimed victory.

Ferrari ‘surprised’ by Le Mans 24 Hours disqualification over flex-wing breach

The lead factory-run Ferrari of James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi finished third, with 2024 Le Mans winners Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen coming home fourth on the road.

However, the #50 car of Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen car was disqualified by the FIA after the race for a flexi-wing breach.

It emerged that four bolts were found to be missing from the rear wing support mechanism compared to the car’s homologated condition.

That resulted in a rear-wing deflection reading of 52 millimetres under load, 37mm more than the permitted maximum of 15mm.

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In a statement, Ferrari aired “surprise” at the decision to disqualify the #50 car.

And the team revealed that a mechanic noticed during the car’s final pit stop that one bolt was missing from the rear winning support, with the remaining three bolts lost over the final 37 laps of the race.

Ferrari said: “Following post-race scrutineering at the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans, the number 50 Ferrari 499P, which had finished fourth, was disqualified for a technical infringement, as stated in Decision number 225 issued by the Stewards.

“The irregularity concerned the absence of four bolts from the central rear wing support.

“The other two 499P entries – the number 83, which won the race, and the number 51, which finished third – passed post-race scrutineering without any issues.

“As reported by the Stewards, during the number 50 car’s last pit stop at 3.23 p.m. on Sunday, 15 June, a Ferrari – AF Corse team mechanic noticed that only one of the bolts securing the central rear wing support was missing.

“Given the design of the element, the absence of one or more of these components did not compromise the car’s safety in any way.

“The subsequent loss of the remaining bolts during the final 37 minutes of the race provided no advantage in terms of performance or the final standings.

“The top speed of the number 50 499P reported by the Stewards in their decision was recorded during the car’s final seven laps while it was running in the slipstream of its sister car, the number 51 499P.

“While surprised by the decision, Ferrari reaffirms its complete confidence in the professionalism and integrity of its team, in the actions taken, and in its respect for the regulations governing the FIA World Endurance Championship.

“With full confidence in those same regulations, even though the incident in question offered no competitive advantage to the crew, nor did it compromise the safety of our drivers or that of other competitors, Ferrari is already at work ahead of the next rounds of a season that resumes under the global spotlight in July, in Brazil.

“Following the disqualification of the number 50 499P, Ferrari retains its lead in the championship’s Manufacturers’ standings with 172 points.

“In the World Drivers’ Championship, the trio of Pier Guidi–Calado–Giovinazzi leads with 105 points, followed by Ye–Kubica–Hanson with 89 and Fuoco–Molina–Nielsen with 57.”

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Ferrari’s Le Mans disqualification comes after Antonello Coletta, the head of the Scuderia’s World Endurance Championship operation, emerged as a potential replacement for under-fire F1 team principal Fred Vasseur.

Vasseur finds himself under mounting pressure in light of Ferrari’s underwhelming start to the F1 2025 season, with the team currently trailing leaders McLaren by 191 points in the Constructors’ standings.

A report in the Italian media has claimed that Coletta was offered the role of Ferrari F1 team boss in the past, but turned the position down.

Coletta and Christian Horner, the Red Bull team principal, are thought to be Ferrari’s preferred candidates to replace Vasseur if a change is made.

However, PlanetF1.com understands that Ferrari’s hopes of luring Horner away from Red Bull are extremely remote.

In an exclusive interview with PlanetF1.com earlier this month, Horner insisted that his “heart and soul” remains committed to Red Bull.

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