Antonio Fuoco and Hadrien David explain their Monza WEC pole laps

Ascari gave both Monza pole sitters a reason to be cautious on slicks. Antonio Fuoco said dirt through the chicane shook his confidence on his final Hyperpole lap in the #50 Ferrari 499P, while Hadrien David left himself room for error there as the track dried in the #78 Akkodis ASP Lexus. Both took pole by less than a tenth of a second.

Speaking at the FIA World Endurance Championship’s post-qualifying press conference, Fuoco said Ferrari had gone into Saturday’s shootout with little chance to test its dry setup. David was pleased with how the Lexus performed in the cold, but singled out tyre degradation as his main concern for Sunday’s six-hour season finale.

Fuoco wants a clean farewell for the 499P

Fuoco felt more comfortable in the opening qualifying session than in Hyperpole. The #50 had been quickest in the first phase, but he said he lost some confidence in the shootout and found Ascari particularly tricky when he encountered dirt on his last lap. Even so, his 1m33.364s put Ferrari on Hypercar pole, 0.096s clear of Mathieu Jaminet in the #19 Genesis.

Fuoco credited Ferrari’s engineers for giving him a setup he could trust without a proper dry practice run. The result also brought him back to the start of the 499P programme. He took the car’s first WEC pole on its debut at Sebring in 2023 and now heads the grid for the final race of its current specification, before Ferrari introduces an evolution for 2027.

Fuoco said everyone wanted “a proper goodbye to this car”. He described taking pole in front of Ferrari’s home supporters as emotional and said his priority was to get through Sunday’s race cleanly.

David expects the second stint to test Lexus

David said a team-mate warned him about Ascari before Hyperpole. He gave himself a margin there early in the session, then found more grip lap by lap. The cold and Monza’s long straights suited the Lexus, he said, and he set a 1m47.523s without seeking a tow. That earned him LMGT3 pole by 0.014s over Jonny Edgar’s #33 TF Sport Corvette, his second pole of his rookie WEC season after Spa.

David said Monza is usually relatively gentle on tyres, but added that he was “still expecting to struggle on the second stint”. With the sister #87 Lexus qualifying fifth, he saw scope for the two cars to help Akkodis ASP strategically. His first concern was bringing the #78 home and turning its qualifying speed into points.

The 6 Hours of Monza starts at 11:00 CET on Sunday 8 November.