Nicklas Nielsen aims to recover lost world championship points in São Paulo

After a disappointing Le Mans, Danish Ferrari factory driver Nicklas Nielsen is back in the fight as round five of the FIA World Endurance Championship gets underway in São Paulo this coming weekend.

What looked to be a potential podium finish at Le Mans instead ended in disqualification for Nicklas Nielsen and his teammates from Ferrari’s factory squad in this year’s edition of the French endurance classic. A post-race technical inspection of the car – which had seen Nielsen, Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina cross the line in fourth place close to the podium – ultimately excluded the trio from the points altogether.

That has only strengthened the Dane’s determination for redemption as round five of the World Endurance Championship takes place at Interlagos this weekend – even though the Brazilian Formula 1 circuit, which joined the new Hypercar era in 2024, is far from being Ferrari’s strongest venue.

“It’ll be great to get back in the car and try to recover some of the many points we unfortunately lost in France. The São Paulo track was a tough one for us in 2024. It’s a circuit that puts huge strain on the tyres. However, it’s been resurfaced since last year, so hopefully that will play to our advantage,” says Nicklas Nielsen.

“There’s no doubt it’s going to be another tough race, but we’ll work hard to be fighting at the front again. No matter what, it’ll be amazing to feel the racing buzz again. Interlagos is such an iconic place for motorsport fans, and it’s always special to race in front of a truly passionate crowd.”

Despite the disqualification at Le Mans, Nielsen, Fuoco and Molina still hold third place in the overall world championship standings with their #50 Ferrari 499P. The championship is currently led by their teammates in the factory-run #51 Ferrari, with the privately entered and Le Mans-winning #83 car sitting second.

Round five of this year’s FIA World Endurance Championship will be contested as a six-hour race, with the green flag set to drop on Sunday 13 July at 11:30 local time – that’s 16:30 CET. The race will be broadcast live on Eurosport and the FIA WEC TV.