Yifei Ye (AF Corse): “In Austin, we rewarded the whole team”

Yifei, how do you feel here in Fuji two weeks after your victory in Austin?

It was a very emotional race. Especially at the end with the Toyota number 7 that reduced the gap. We managed to do a full race, without any mistakes and we managed to bring home the victory. The first for the #83. My first victory with Ferrari. It's a very special day. We've talked about it before, but may Ferrari win in F1 and WEC, the same day, it was incredible. So that feeling is still there. Here we are super motivated for the race. We know that last year the team did not have its best performance compared to other circuits, but we have improved.

What do you think is the biggest challenge on this Fuji Speedway track?

The last sector is a real challenge for the tyres. Also, the stints are quite long because the track is very short. So you have to count almost 40 laps per stint. Doing a double will be a real challenge to master the tyres. We see that everyone is now getting closer between the first and last in the Hypercar category. So we have to do our best and make the right decisions in the race. And maybe the rain will come too, which will make our life difficult but will make the race more exciting for you. It will definitely be a tough race.

Did the victory in Austin give the team a boost of confidence?

Absolutely. At Le Mans we were very close to fighting for the win. We were in a very good position and everyone fought very hard. I feel sorry for the whole team that didn’t have the chance to fight for the win at the end because they worked so hard all year and they did an incredible job. I’m happy that in Austin we rewarded the whole team with this great win. So it was a win at the right time, very important, and I hope we can continue to get good results for the whole team.

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