Miguel Molina (Barcelona, 1989) is a man Ferrari, of the house. she came to Maranello in 2017 to enroll in the programs of GT from the Italian brand, with which an important name has been made within the resistance. Two class wins from him in the WEC (8H from Bahrain Y Fuji 6H), plus another 14 podiums and the third place in the final classification in 2022 serve as a file to get a place in the 499P (Hypercar) with which Ferrari landed in the WEC 2023. He talks about all this with AS before traveling to Florida to compete in the 24 Hours of Daytona.
-First of all, congratulations on your position as a driver in the new Ferrari Hypercar of 2023. What does it mean for you?
-Thank you. It is the most important point, the highest point of my sports career since I started in all this at the age of seven. (karting). Devoting myself to this and being a motorsports professional was my goal and now reaching the highest category of endurance with Ferrari means reaching the top of the mountain, getting to be in the premier category of Endurance. You can not ask for more than to reach the goal as a child.
-And he makes the top with Ferrari, being a man of the house.
-That’s how it is. I arrived in 2017 and they have been very positive years with many good things. But the balance of all the years is that I am comfortable, they are happy with me. This shows that the decision was correct and that is why we have been in this project for a few years now. So far in the GT, and from now on they have given me the opportunity to jump into this new project, which as you can see is very ambitious. Now we have to be calm because we know it will be very difficult. Being in this project from the beginning is very important to me.
-It has been an important part in the birth and development of the new 499P. How has his work been on it?
-It will be more than a year since I tested the car in the simulator and I already experienced that this was another world, a much more demanding category. Developing the car requires a lot of work, a lot of learning. When you see the deployment that there is for this project you realize that it is a very serious thing. Getting in the car for the first time was something incredible that I will never forget.
-How is the new car?
-The car has been developed at Ferrari and has been in the oven for a long time. We’ve only recently put it on the track, since last summer when we started the tests on the track, but many kilometers have already been covered. Ferrari has been able to do two units and that has made it possible for us to gain many kilometers in a very short time. As we have also seen with other competitors, the Hypercar is a complex machine, which has to face problems and solve them. We have to learn as much as possible. We are doing a very good job. We’ll see how we get to Sebring (WEC 2023 start in March), but I see that things are going well, working very well. And we are lucky that we are at Ferrari, which knows how to do things as it should.
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-You are talking about Toyota, Peugeot, Ferrari itself… There will also be Porsche, Cadillac, Glickenhaus, Vanwall, the incorporation of BMW and Lamborghini are expected by 2024. How do you see the general panorama of the WEC?
-It will be a category that will give a lot to talk about. This is very positive, since for this year there are 13 Hypercar registered. It is taking a very high level. When there are categories in which the brands are involved, the best drivers are there, because the factories want to win. It will be very competitive and it will be an incredible championship. We will see what level we are at, we have to see how the championship manages the entry of new brands and I am already looking forward to starting.
-Many new manufacturers for 2023 but the reference and the rival will be the Toyota, dominators of the last years. Do you think the same?
-It’s clear. As they say in football, the pressure is on them, because they are the ones with the experience, they have been in this category for many years and they have an advantage. But as they say, if we go to the dance, we are going to dance. We will try to be close to them as soon as possible.
-And when will be that? When will Ferrari be ready to fight for victories in the WEC?
-We are ambitious but humble at the same time. We know that Ferrari this first year is embarking on a completely new category. The project is born from scratch, with people from our department and the cooperation of other departments of our company. We know it’s going to be a difficult situation and maybe we’re not at the start, we have to see how the first races go. But the things that we are doing, we are doing well. Reliability will be very important.
-Perhaps a point marked in red could be Le Mans, which will also be special, with its event in which it celebrates its centenary.
-Le Mans is always the race of the year. It was already before in the GT. For us it has always been, as you say, the date marked in red and this year more. Just being there is something incredible, and competing for victory in the top category in the year of its centenary, even more so and surely we will arrive prepared.
-Your resume includes being the first Spaniard to win in the DTM. Can we dream of him becoming the first Spaniard to win with Ferrari at Le Mans?
-That’s why they trusted me. If I am among the six places of honor to compete in one of the Ferrari cars in the top category, it is because they trust us. Is my objetive. Being in this category is already reaching the top and since we are here we will try to win as many races as possible. As I have said on several occasions, I have done everything possible to be here, they have trusted me and now we have to do the job and be prepared for the races. At some point or another we will have a chance to win.
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-Resistance is not an individual job and it is seen in the crews. What can you tell us about your colleagues, Antonio Fuoco and Nicklas Nielsen, with whom you will share the 499P?
We have a very strong team. Antonio is in a great moment, we did the entire 2022 WEC together and we even fought for the championship, so we have worked very well together and that is why they have kept us in the same car. And with the incorporation of Nicklas I am very happy, because we have a great personal relationship, with Antonio as well of course, and he has shown in the prototypes that he is very fast. Already in last year’s race in Sebring he took the general pole of the LMP2 (ahead even of the Toyotas), although he was competing in the Pro-Am category. He is also very fast in the race. They are two riders younger than me so I can give them experience and give them peace of mind in certain ways. We have a very strong team.
-And before the battle for the WEC, 24 Hours of Daytona with the Ferrari 296. Don’t forget the GT class…
-The number one program is the WEC but Ferrari needs to keep winning with the GTs and with the new car this year. And his first race is at Daytona. We must not let the GT pass, as the boss, Antonello Coletta, told us, we must continue to win in the GT because our department has the DNA of the GT and we must continue to show people that despite having carried out the project of the Hypercars, the GTs continue ahead. Where Ferrari continues to compete, it has to continue winning.
– So be it then and good luck for the new year.
-Thank you.
