WEC 2025 BoP evaluation: Ferrari

In 2025, Ferrari and AF Corse have pushed the Hypercar class to a brand new stage, extracting much more efficiency  from the 499P than in earlier seasons, when the Italian LMH was already one of many quickest automobiles within the subject.

The 2025 season was outlined by the Prancing Horse. Above all, the successful streak within the first half of the season can be remembered without end. Nevertheless, in a Steadiness of Efficiency-governed championship, such dominance is technically not purported to occur. So what occurred?

The reply: Ferrari made an enormous leap over the winter. This progress was pivotal for why the 2025 WEC BoP didn’t work as supposed. The preliminary BoP for the 499P was nonetheless primarily based on the ultimate races of 2024, when the rear-end replace was nonetheless model new. 

Qatar shock units the tone

Ferrari made this replace actually work over the winter break. While Ferrari was already aggressive in late 2024 — with a win in Austin and qualifying third and fifth in Bahrain — nobody anticipated such an enormous efficiency acquire over simply three months.

In Qatar, Ferrari caught the whole subject and the automated BoP system off guard. The downside with an automatic BoP is easy: if the baseline values are incorrect on the begin of the season, it takes time for the system to successfully carry a automotive again in line. AF Corse used this window of alternative to their most benefit. 

Ferdinando Cannizzo, head of endurance race automobiles at Ferrari, defined at Bahrain: “From the very starting we labored laborious to make sure good efficiency on all of the observe traits. However the outcomes proved that we achieved our targets on high-efficiency tracks like Le Mans or Spa or Monza first. And so we gained a lot expertise in establishing the automotive for high-efficiency tracks.

“However over the primary two years we collected extra information and sooner or later understood that we needed to transfer away from the precise setup that we used at Le Mans to raised carry out at tracks with completely different traits.

“We then spent a lot time segmenting all of the tracks and understanding in all of the areas through which we weren’t performing nicely and the way we might arrange the automotive for these. So I believe our power this 12 months might be the whole understanding of the automotive.”

BoP at all times one step behind

The 499P started the season in Qatar with a power-to-weight ratio of two.070 kg/kW within the vital window beneath 250 km/h, solely the third-worst ranking behind Porsche (2.094) and Toyota (2.115). Ferrari steamrolled the opposition and took a dominant 1-2-3. 

What adopted is symbolic of how cleverly Ferrari was capable of play the system. As a substitute of a harsher BoP following the Qatar dominance, the power-to-weight ratio for Ferrari’s residence race at Imola bought truly improved to 2.057 kg/kW. 

Ferrari understands like no different staff methods to be dominant with out displaying that dominance too clearly within the information related to the 2025 BoP – the highest 60% of laptimes and the ten single quickest laps through the race.

For Spa, the BoP process was adjusted for the primary time, counting solely the 2 greatest races as a substitute of three. But, even having the second-worst power-to-weight ratio within the subject (topped solely by a catastrophic Toyota BoP) couldn’t cease Ferrari in Belgium.

A minimum of, for the primary time in 2025, Ferrari needed to actually combat for the win. Alpine was sure that with out Mick Schumacher’s puncture, the successful staff would have been blue as a substitute of pink. Nonetheless, Ferrari headed to Le Mans with three wins from three races.

The Le Mans thriller

It was at Le Mans the place the most important BoP row erupted — a battle largely accountable for Porsche’s subsequent withdrawal from the WEC. Within the Particular BoP, created totally on simulation information, Ferrari acquired a comparatively common ranking of two.023kg/kW beneath 250 km/h.

Above 250 km/h, related for under this race because of the observe traits), the 499P was given the worst power-to-weight ratio of all hypercars at 2.084 kg/kW. Regardless of this, the three Ferraris occupied first, second, and fifth within the high velocity rankings. 

This paradox led to vital displeasure among the many different producers. To today, the paddock puzzles over how Ferrari is ready to generate such an enormous benefit within the high-speed vary. Theories starting from “diffuser stalling” to tricking torque sensors flow into as unproven paddock rumours.

It must be famous that Ferrari didn’t cheat. The Italians merely perceive methods to play the sport higher than anybody else. Nevertheless, the political penalties have been historic: The “BoP row” and the next failed try to unify the LMH and LMDh platforms within the short-term have been the catalysts for Porsche’s determination to exit the WEC on the finish of 2025. 

With the LMDh idea, Porsche feels it may well’t play the identical recreation as Ferrari does with the LMH, regardless of the ACO’s promise of a “assured equal enjoying subject.”

Aggressive even with the harshest ranking

It wasn’t till after Le Mans that the system lastly caught up with the Ferrari 499P. For 3 races, it was handed a ranking of two.227 kg/kW below 250 km/h, the identical power-to-weight ratio Toyota had struggled with in Spa.

Nonetheless, Ferrari remained aggressive within the dry observe periods in Austin earlier than the rain turned the whole lot the other way up. 

And likewise at Bahrain, now with the second-worst power-to-weight ratio of two.203 kg/kW behind Porsche, Ferrari remained the second-strongest drive behind perennial Bahrain winners, Toyota.

Ferrari’s two “bogey tracks,” Sao Paulo and Fuji, remained. In Brazil, Ferrari was with no likelihood, partly as a result of the hole in power-to-weight ratio to the opposite hypercars was so huge. At Fuji, many different hypercars have been rated much less favourably in comparison with Sao Paulo, whereas Ferrari remained caught at 2.227 kg/kW.

General, Cannizzo stays happy with Ferrari’s post-Le Mans efficiency: “In all probability the post-Le Mans circuits aren’t essentially the most appropriate tracks to our automotive. However for those who examine our efficiency and take away any efficiency administration adjustment [the BoP], we’ve got gained quite a lot of efficiency. And we’re extraordinarily happy with that.”
 
The Ferrari 499P is the quickest Hypercar outright. It’s subsequently no marvel that Antonello Coletta constantly advocates for the entire abolition of the BoP. But Ferrari proves that even with BoP, it may well exploit its benefits at each stage. 

Because of this, Ferrari AF Corse secured the primary prototype title since 1972 for Maranello. For 2026, Ferrari finds itself in an odd scenario: After all, it desires to maintain successful. Nevertheless, one other season like 2025 would inevitably result in the exit of extra producers.

How Ferrari navigates the tightrope between technical excellence and the political necessity of a balanced subject can be some of the compelling tales of the 2026 season.

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