Ferrari to return to top-class sportscar racing alongside F1 from 2023

Ferrari will go back to their roots in 2023, with the famous Italian marque announcing a return to top-line sportscar competition alongside their F1 programme.

Ferrari, who have taken overall honours at the Le Mans 24 Hours on nine occasions and 36 victories there in total, alongside 24 world titles, have begun the development of a car for the brand-new Le Mans Hypercar class, which will form the top class of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

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The announcement comes fifty years after Ferrari’s last official participation in the premier class of the World Sports Car Championship in 1973.

“Following a period of study and analysis, Ferrari has kicked off the development of the new LMH car to include in recent weeks the design and simulation phases,” read a statement. “The track testing programme, the name of the car and the drivers who will make up the official crews, will be part of future announcements.”

Ferrari President John Elkann added: “In over 70 years of racing, on tracks all over the world, we led our closed-wheel cars to victory by exploring cutting-edge technological solutions: innovations that arise from the track and make every road car produced in Maranello extraordinary.

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"With the new Le Mans Hypercar programme, Ferrari once again asserts its sporting commitment and determination to be a protagonist in the major global motorsport events."

It was common in the 1950s and 60s for Ferrari's Formula 1 drivers to dovetail their F1 commitments with racing at Le Mans. Last year current Ferrari racer Charles Leclerc competed in the Le Mans 24 Hours Virtual event – an experience which he said left him craving the chance to try out the real thing...