Antonello Coletta: “A dream that I have been chasing for years”

A return after 50 years of absence. We no longer dared to believe it…

As you can imagine, internally we have been talking about this project for some time. And we have been attending the technical working groups organized by the FIA ​​and the ACO since day one. We were attentive to every decision taken, to every change in regulations. And when it was approved, we thought about the best strategy to adopt, and therefore the type of cars to adopt.

Exactly, why the LMH more than the LMDh?

For us, the LMH makes more sense. It is very important for Ferrari to be able to design the car from A to Z (the LMDh imposes an LM P2 chassis and common elements such as the hybrid system. Editor's note). For us, the link with a road-going Supercar is absolutely essential. We took our time, weighed the pros and cons in order to make the best strategic decision and discussed a lot. This was not a decision to be taken lightly. We then went to present the project to the Board of Directors, the discussions became more refined and we finally pressed the button.

You have always said that it was important to be able to ride IMSA. However, LMHs are not yet accepted there…

A compromise (to mix LMH and LMDh via a Performance Balance. Ed.) was found in WEC. I can't believe it can't be the same in the United States. Judging the potential of the two types of cars could take time. And it might be that not everything is perfect and final at the 24 2023 Hours of Daytona. But I hope that the fact that Toyota et Peugeot are already there with an LMH will allow IMSA to get a real idea of ​​the potential of the two types of cars. The exercise may not be easy, but I dare to hope that it is possible.

Find the entire interview in AUTOhebdo No. 2301 available in digital version and on newsstands.