Ferrari weighs in on BoP concerns

With an influx of new Hypercar manufacturers, it would appear that the good times are rolling for WEC – but not all is well within the paddock.

Last year’s Le Mans 24 Hours winner Ferrari is deeply unhappy with the latest set of Balance of Performance (BoP) adjustments.

WEC’s BoP is the opaque and slightly mysterious technical system which, via stipulated weight and power output adjustments, is supposed to eliminate any advantage gained or lost by choosing a particular engine and chassis philosophy. It often causes controversy.

The changes for the opening Qatar round implied the lighter LMDh cars would apparently be favoured over heavier Le Mans Hypercars (LMH). The race was subsequently dominated by the five Porsche 963 LMDh machines, running at a minimum weight of 1048kg.Meanwhile, Ferrari and Toyota were WEC’s heavyweights – 1075kg and 1089kg respectively.

“It’s ridiculous – we can’t imagine why this choice [has been made],” said Ferrari team boss Antonello Coletta. “It is very stupid that we are putting weight on the car. Also, we have drivers that make more and more sacrifices to lose 1kg, 2kg. This is dangerous.”

With more changes anticipated for Round 2 in Imola, expect the BoP debate to run and run