Ferrari pinning hopes on rain to be Fuji leveller

The 6 Hours of Fuji represents a crucial round in the race for the FIA World Endurance Championship titles, with the standings potentially shifting decisively – either to seal the deal or to throw the title race wide open.

However, a major uncertainty hangs over Japan in the form of the menacing clouds, though the heavy downpours that had hit in previous days stayed away during Free Practice, but still threaten to return on Saturday and Sunday.

This is what the Ferrari team have been focusing on; right from the start, they have sought to make the most of the dry track to gauge the performance of the 499P, a car not usually well-suited to the Japanese circuit, but which, in the rain, could find an unlikely ally to challenge its rivals – notably Toyota, Alpine and Genesis, who have particularly stood out today.

"Today was quite important because it's going to rain heavily tomorrow and on Sunday we might have mixed conditions, with a few downpours. So it was crucial to make the most of Free Practice to try and improve; then we'll see how things pan out in the wet," said Antonio Fuoco, speaking to journalists at Fuji, including Motorsport.com.

"We fitted the medium tyres this morning because the temperatures were already high and there wasn't much grip, but I don't think the track conditions will improve, and I always believe it's best to try things out for the race right from the start. Given there's a good chance of a wet or at least damp race, it was important to try something for dry conditions today.

"Wet qualifying? Honestly, I don't recall there ever having been one, so I think it'll be a first for everyone. We'll find out tomorrow what happens. In the meantime, we've seen that there are a couple of cars that look really strong, especially Alpine, but also Genesis. However, conditions can change quite a lot over the course of the weekend, so it's best to focus on ourselves and give it our all."

As mentioned, Ferrari has never enjoyed much success in the Land of the Rising Sun. This means making the most of every opportunity to try and secure a good result, perhaps even picking up some championship points that could prove crucial at the end of the year, as Antonio Giovinazzi points out.

#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Giovinazzi

"Let's just say we haven't come here with a magic formula: the car is the same, the tyres have changed, so we need to try and adapt a bit more to this situation. So far, we've struggled every year, doing just a tad better in 2025; we'll build on that and try to do our best," explains the driver from Puglia.

"We're aware that our car isn't the best on this circuit, even though we made a few small steps forward in 2025. But the others have improved too, such as Toyota and Genesis. Sector 3 remains a problem for us, but so does Sector 2, in some respects. Quite simply, it's difficult to find a good compromise, and it's been that way ever since the first year we came here.

"The races are long and a lot can happen; we'll see if, between now and Sunday, we can find solutions to improve our car. If we're not competitive in dry conditions, I hope it rains on Sunday.

"In the past, we've seen that even in difficult conditions, we've managed to pick up a few points in the end, as was the case in Brazil, for example. We must never give up, bearing in mind that the #51 car remains the best-placed in the drivers' standings to challenge for the title.

"In Austin, we picked up some points in the Constructors' Championship, whilst the #50 car scored in the Drivers' Championship. The #7 Toyota retired, which was a positive. We know it will be tough here, but we've always struggled at Interlagos too; yet this year we achieved a good result. Unfortunately, things didn't go too well for us in the #51 car at COTA, but never say never. We need to be smart with our strategy and pull everything together, trying to score as many points as possible."

Engineer Mauro Barbieri shared this view, providing an overview of the work carried out today, whilst naturally refraining from making any bold statements or predictions.

"The first practice sessions are always used to fine-tune the set-up and get to grips with the track. Apart from the #8 Toyota, the whole field has been fairly close together, but I wouldn't read too much into the lap times as the weather forecast for tomorrow suggests a high probability of rain.

"We're hoping it'll be wet in Free Practice 3, so we can optimise the set-up in those conditions too. But let's just say the situation is more or less the same as in previous years. Clearly, we're getting into a subject I can't really discuss.

"Let's just say that it seems something has been done to try and keep the field a bit closer together in terms of lap times, as we've seen throughout the season, but it's also true that overtaking is always difficult, even on the straights. That's why, in some races, we've seen cars adopt different strategies to get more laps on a clear track and avoid being held up by traffic. That's the downside of having lap times so close together.

"It would have been important to test them, given that the forecast is set to change for Saturday and Sunday; there might be times when the track is a bit damp and the soft tyres could come in handy.

"But we also need a benchmark for how they perform in dry conditions, because if they only last 20 laps instead of 50, it might be better to struggle a bit more in the early laps with the medium tyres, but be more competitive over the long run and with less degradation."

After the race, Ferrari has scheduled a day of testing on Tuesday 29th, but only as a 'roll-out' for the current 499P cars, which will then see out the season. There will be no further testing of the 2027 EVO version, which is expected to return to action in Barcelona on 20 October – at least according to the official calendar – although Barbieri has not revealed any further details.

"We thought this was the best way to rebuild the cars by fitting the new parts after the race, so as to carry out a sort of one-hour shakedown to check that everything is in order. After that, we'll send the cars to Barcelona, which is what we did in Austin before coming here.

"We won't be testing the updated version here in Japan, but we don't usually say when we'll be out on track for testing."

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