Ferrari has confirmed that factory drivers Nicklas Nielsen and Ye Yifei have signed multi-year contract renewals with the Prancing Horse.
Nielsen has contested 110 races for the Ferrari since 2018, when he was crowned Ferrari Challenge Europe Trofeo Pirelli champion.
He then won the 2019 European Le Mans Series LMGTE, 2019/20 and 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship LMGTE Am and 2021 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup titles, as well as the LMGTE Am class at the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans, before being named as one of the initial drivers in Ferrari’s 499P Hypercar programme.
Competing alongside Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina aboard the #50 499P, Nielsen won the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans, and has finished in the top three in the Drivers’ world championship in each of the past three seasons.
Most recently, the trio won the FIA WEC’s Lone Star Le Mans event earlier this month, bringing Ferrari’s 15-month winless streak in Hypercar to an end. The Dane’s multi-year extension will see the 29-year-old’s time with the Italian marque exceed a decade.
“I am delighted with this renewal, which is very special to me and, in some respects, feels like a natural step, because I began my racing career with Ferrari,” Nielsen said.
“It is an honour to continue on this path representing the Prancing Horse. I would like to thank Ferrari and Antonello Coletta for the trust they have shown in me. My goals for the future? They remain unchanged: to keep improving as a driver and to achieve many more race wins together with my teammates.”
Ye, meanwhile, joined Ferrari in 2024, and has raced AF Corse’s privateer #83 499P in the FIA WEC for the past three seasons, winning the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside Robert Kubica and Phil Hanson. Ye and Hanson, who’s own contract extension was announced earlier this month, are both expected to continue in the #83 Ferrari next year.
Since joining the Prancing Horse, Ye has also made select GT3 starts, including twice at the FIA GT World Cup at Macau. This is his first contract renewal as a Ferrari official driver.
“I am proud to extend my partnership with Ferrari,” Ye said.
“I remember signing my first contract with the Prancing Horse and dreaming of winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the 499P. That dream very quickly became a reality with the 2025 victory, proof that, with dedication and professionalism, great goals can be reached together. Since joining the Ferrari family, I have felt welcome and have sensed the trust that unites the team, and I thank everyone for that. I am hugely motivated to keep giving my best, together with my teammates, to achieve further success.”
Antonello Coletta, global head of endurance and corse clienti, commented: “We are proud to announce Nicklas Nielsen’s contract renewal. He is a driver who grew up within the Prancing Horse family and, since winning the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Europe in 2018, has been central to numerous race wins and titles with both GT3 cars and the 499P, in which he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2024.
“Nicklas is a young, reliable and professional driver, and one of the pillars of our endurance programme. This contract renewal is simply the latest milestone in his career, and we are confident that his future results will be every bit as significant as those he has already achieved.
“We are delighted to announce Yifei Ye’s first contract extension. This is a very important moment for us. Yifei joined our family in 2024 and, that same season, took his first win with the number 83 499P at COTA. That success was followed in 2025 by the unforgettable victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Prancing Horse’s third in a row.
“Yifei, the first Chinese driver to join the ranks of Ferrari official drivers in endurance racing, was also the first Chinese winner at Le Mans, demonstrating his full worth on that occasion too. We are confident that, in future, he will reach further prestigious milestones to match those already to his name.”
Images courtesy of Nicklas Nielsen, Ye Yifei and Keith Rizzo/Sarah Weeks
