Ferrari bag Autosport's moment of the year for LeMans 24-hours triumph

Ferrari were awarded Autosport's 'Moment of the Year' award for their incredible win at the 24-hour Le Mans in the 2023 season.

It may not have been the most successful of years for Ferrari in Formula One, but they were able to bag silverware at one of the most iconic races of the season at LeMans. They won the race for the first time in 50 years with Antonio Giovinnazi, James Calado, and Alessandro Pier Guidi after an epic fight with Toyota.

As per Motorsport.com, Ferrari’s success came out on top over Josef Newgarden’s first Indianapolis 500 victory, Max Verstappen setting a new consecutive Formula 1 Grand Prix wins record at the Italian GP, and Shane van Gisbergen’s shock victory on his NASCAR Cup debut in Chicago.

Ferrari team boss previews the 2024 season

Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur believed the team suffered in the early part of the 2023 season due to "high expectations" following their P2 finish in the Constructor's and Driver's Championship the year before.

Speaking with Autosport, Vasseur pointed out that they cannot repeat the mistakes of 2023 heading into the 2024 season, he said:

"For sure, I think the level of expectation was a bit too high at the beginning of the season. We understood quickly the situation after a couple of laps in Bahrain and even a couple of laps into the simulator before Bahrain.

"But what I would keep in mind this season is the reaction of the team. We had a tough moment but remember after Jeddah, Miami, Spain, or Zandvoort is not so far away and we were almost lapped. I think that we, compared to Zandvoort, collectively made a huge step forward and this is good for the future. It's on this progression that we can build for next year."

Vasseur added:

"I don't know if it will be better next year, nobody knows. But you know what you're doing in your business and it's always a matter of comparison. If you can make up one second and the others are doing 1.5s then you look stupid. But if they do five-tenths then you look like a hero. I don't want to be too optimistic because it was probably one of the issues we had last season."

It will be fascinating to see how Ferrari approach the 2024 season given their mixed bag of a season in 2023.