Ferrari has announced that 23-year-old Chinese driver Yifei Ye will become a factory driver for the Italian brand in 2024.
His programme hasn’t been revealed yet, though DSC expects him to form part of the driver line-up in AF Corse’s privately-funded 499P Hypercar.
Ye, a former Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific selected driver, joins Ferrari after impressing in his first top-class season in the FIA WEC with HERTZ Team JOTA.
He also has a well-rounded CV which features four titles in as many championships. He became the French Formula 4 champion in 2016, winning 14 of the 23 races on the calendar, and did likewise in the Euroformula Open in 2020 with 11 victories.
🚨 DRIVER ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨
@Yifei_YE becomes an official Ferrari Factory driver 👊🗣️ “For me, this is a dream come true. This new sporting chapter opening with the Prancing Horse is definitely a milestone in my career.”
Read more ➡️ https://t.co/82AIE9xgt6 #FerrariRaces pic.twitter.com/odATxDlxMo
— Ferrari Races (@FerrariRaces) December 18, 2023
In 2021, he ended the year with two championship wins, both at the wheel of LMP2-class prototypes, in the European Le Mans Series and the Asian Le Mans Series: Yifei was the first driver to win both championships in a single year.
“It’s a pleasure to welcome Yifei to Ferrari, a driver who despite his young age has been able to emerge as one of the fastest in the World Endurance Championship,” said Antonello Coletta, the global head of endurance and Corse Clienti at Ferrari.
Ye added: “When I heard I would be an official Ferrari driver, I was thrilled. For me, this is a dream come true. This new sporting chapter opening with the Prancing Horse is definitely a milestone in my career.”
Image courtesy of Ferrari
