Nicklas Nielsen Missed Out on Le Mans Podium

The Danish Ferrari factory driver finished just 1.2 seconds shy of the podium in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he was unable to repeat last year’s major victory.

Although Nicklas Nielsen once again delivered a strong performance at Le Mans, the Dane and his teammates were unable to repeat the triumph of 2023. This year’s win also went to a Ferrari – but not Nielsen’s red #50. Instead, it was the privately entered #83 Ferrari, driven by former Formula 1 star Robert Kubica, that crossed the finish line first.

While second place went to one of the Porsche factory cars, Nielsen’s teammates in the sister Ferrari secured third, leaving Nicklas Nielsen, Miguel Molina, and Antonio Fuoco to settle for fourth – just 1.2 seconds off the podium.

“I’m disappointed we didn’t win, because we definitely had the car to do it. It was a super close race at the front, and we were honestly surprised by how competitive we were, as we didn’t feel particularly strong during qualifying or the earlier practice sessions. But during the night, we got a drive-through penalty and had to adjust our pit stop strategy, which set us back a bit,” said Nicklas Nielsen.

The Dane and his teammates still managed to fight their way back to the front of the 21-car Hypercar field, where the lead changed hands repeatedly. Right up until the final stages of the race, the trio were in the hunt for the win – until technical issues struck.

“We suddenly had a problem with the brake-by-wire system, which controls the brakes, and that cost us precious time. In the end, we were fighting for third, which ended up going to our sister car. That’s not how we wanted things to end, but since we didn’t manage to win ourselves, it’s great to see both the victory and a podium go to our teammates,” Nielsen added.

“With three straight Le Mans wins, we’ve proven that our Ferrari 499P is an incredibly strong race car, and that we have an amazing team around us. The results make me proud to be a Ferrari driver – and while I obviously would have loved for our car to win again this year, I’m genuinely happy on behalf of the whole team.”

The next round of the FIA World Endurance Championship takes place at the Brazilian Formula 1 circuit Interlagos in São Paulo on July 13.

Update: Following post-race inspection, the #50 Ferrari has been disqualified from the 24 Hours of Le Mans due to a technical infringement.