The #83 AF Corse Ferrari’s Le Mans triumph this year will surely be looked back on as one of the greats. Phil Hanson, Robert Kubica and Yifei Ye emerging as the victors up against one of the highest quality fields the race has ever seen, to ensure the 499P’s unbeaten streak at Le Mans remained intact, was an eye-opener.
And even now, weeks later, with the next round of the WEC just days away, Hanson still can’t quite believe it all happened. It’s a 24-hour stretch that he keeps replaying over and over in his mind.
“It was so nerve-wracking,” he tells DSC. “You just didn’t know what was going to happen towards the end of the race. I’ve watched this race and been part of it for about a decade, and I’ve seen the big heartbreaks. I’ve seen the Toyota’s infamous retirement, and for Robert and Yifei, that final lap breakdown with WRT.
“The race can take it all away from you, so you’re just thinking all the time about the clock. Every minute in that final hour went so slowly, and you kept thinking about everything that could go wrong. You don’t want to hear that radio message saying that something is wrong with the car, it’s haunting.
“So this year’s race, with all the green running, it was tough to experience the end. I have confidence in my teammates, and Robert was remarkable. But I’m a control freak, I’d rather be in the car! I think most drivers would say the same.
“And then the car crossed the line.
“The last time I won was back in 2020, in the peak of COVID with United Autosports, you had masks, there were no fans, and there wasn’t as much excitement outside of the teams present. So, in comparison, this was so surreal.
“I jumped over the pit wall on the cool-down lap, and I saw that sea of people in the grandstands erupt and applaud. It was a feeling I can’t describe. Then seeing all those fans on the pit straight for the podium was unlike anything I’d seen before. I’m just thankful it happened, that it’s over and will forever be in the history books”
That performance, that win, adds a huge line to 25-year-old Hanson’s racing CV. He’s now a Le Mans winner for Ferrari and joins the proud lineage of British winners of the race as the 35th name on the list. It’s a group that includes the likes of Bentley Boy Frank Clement, F1 Champion Graham Hill, Porsche stalwart Derek Bell, and more recently, ‘Mr Grand Slam’ Nick Tandy, Toyota’s Mike Conway, and, of course, Centenary Le Mans winner James Calado.
“The Ferrari factor is incredible, there’s just something special about the brand, what it has achieved and the heritage it has,” Hanson adds. “As for the British drivers who won this race before me, I hadn’t really thought about it until recently, when I watched videos of Johnny Herbert winning it for Mazda. And really, it’s an honour to be added to that list.”
Looking back on the event as a whole, Hanson recalls that he had a first inclination that the win might be a realistic possibility as early as the Test Day.
“Before that, I thought we might not have a shot, as you don’t know what people can pull out of the bag for a race like that,” he explains. “It just seemed unlikely that Ferrari would win for a third year in a row, and if they did, would it be our car? It felt like it could be the toughest Le Mans ever to win.
“But the Test Day came and went, and we were competitive immediately,” he continues. “Then we got into the Free Practice sessions and the pace continued, and I remember calling my girlfriend and telling her ‘we’re in the fight, we could win this’. And it seemed like the #83 was shaping up to be the strongest of the Ferraris, too.”
In the end, after taking pole, Cadillac’s prospects faded fast and BMW, Alpine, and Toyota’s challenges failed to materialise. It came down to a four-way fight on Sunday between the three Ferraris and the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963, which enjoyed a remarkably clean run and benefited from a stunning performance from all three of its drivers.
“In my first stint, the #6 Porsche came behind me while I was going long and had hit lift and coast targets,” Hanson remembers. “I was told to let them go because we were focused on our own race, so he came up the inside at the first Mulsanne Chicane and vanished. I’d forgotten the car started on the 21st, and even in the night, I didn’t really notice it being in the fight. For me, the fight was against the #50 and #51.
“But come Sunday, the #6 was right there, and my stomach still drops when I think about the moment we took tyres and oil at the final stop with a 38-second lead, as a precaution. Any issue at the end, a spin, a botched pit stop, bad luck in traffic, and it would have been theirs.”
It wasn’t to be, though, for Porsche, Penske and their pursuit of a 20th overall win for the brand and a first for Roger. The #83 crew took the chequered flag first by just 14 seconds, scoring maximum double points in the process. It’s an element of the win that shouldn’t be overlooked, as following a non-points finish at Spa, the trio find themselves back in the title race with four races to go.
For Hanson, Kubica, and Ye, their mindset and mentality will differ slightly from those of their counterparts in the sister cars. The #83 is, of course, privately-entered by definition and therefore doesn’t score manufacturer points for Ferrari. Thus, while the engineers and drivers for AF Corse’s full factory cars will have one eye fixed on delivering Ferrari its first-ever FIA WEC Hypercar Manufacturers’ title, the #83 trio are entirely focused on the Drivers’ standings. The #83’s lead in the Hypercar World Cup is comfortable.
Could this prove to be an advantage as we hit the stretch of the season, which, traditionally at least, features circuits that don’t suit the characteristics of the 499P, CoTA aside?
James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi lead Hanson, Kubica and Ye by just 16 points, and after the #50’s disqualification from Le Mans post-race, the gap to third is 48. We’re a bad outing from the #50 Ferrari away from this turning into a two-horse race, unless any of the #7 Toyota, #6 Porsche and #12 Cadillac crews find race-winning form, and fast.
“Our ambition is now the championship, it has to be, though there are a lot of points left on the table,” Hanson concludes. “The next few races are going to be very tough if we use the past as a barometer. It would be ignorant to assume this winning form will continue. We may be in the mix, but fighting to finish in the top 10 seems the most likely scenario.
“So, I’ll be celebrating the Le Mans win until practice starts in São Paulo. Once the cars leave the pit lane, it’s all about the title, and I don’t think it will be decided until Bahrain.”
