Ferrari factory GT driver Alessandro Pier Guidi believes tyre management will be key to overturning a pace deficit against his team's rival manufacturers during the 6 Hours of Silverstone.
The 33-year-old Italian joins works squad AF Corse for his first full campaign in the World Endurance Championship, sharing the #51 Ferrari 488 with James Calado.
However, based on practice and qualifying times, Ferrari is not displaying the pace of 12 months ago when it dominated the Silverstone opener from start to finish.
Both Ferraris propped up the tail end of the GTE-Pro class order during opening practice on Friday, and in qualifying Pier Guidi and Calado only managed to record the sixth best time, some 1.2 seconds off the pole figure set by Ford.
Pier Guidi linked the drop in performance to the Balance of Performance ratio set before the start of the season, which is taking on a new, algorithm-based system in a bid to take out the human decisions that caused controversy amongst the GTE manufacturers last year.
"I don’t think we can do anything more because of the BoP system that we have this weekend," Pier Guidi told Motorsport Week.com.
"We are pushing hard but at the moment this is the best we can do. We are trying to push harder but we don’t expect to be super competitive and compete against Ford."
"We are not in an easy position but we will do our best."
Although Ferrari says it is struggling in the power department, Pier Guidi asserted that tyre management will be equally important to the final outcome of the race.
Silverstone is a high-grip circuit with several harsh cornering zones, meaning tyre degradation is at a premium.
Further, with the new GTE-Pro regulations stipulating a reduction from six to four sets of rubber during qualifying and the race, an even greater emphasis is placed on the endurance aspect that Pier Guidi believes could help Ferrari where its pace is lacking.
"We have to save and look after the tyres," said Pier Guidi.
"This year we are required to do two double stints with the tyres. It’s important that we do a good job with car set up to save the tyres during the second stint, and if we do that well we will gain time and get a good result."
"It’s important to have a quick car, but also equally important to make sure the tyres don’t drop off. It’s difficult to do this – the weather conditions are not easy because at Silverstone it is often damp, as it has been in practice, or very cold and the tyres start to grain quite quickly here. But I’m confident to have a good setup for the race."
Pier Guidi feels he is coming into GTE-Pro at the right time. Despite the BoP contentions, the category is reaching what may be considered a golden era, with the FIA upgrading its drivers' championship trophy to a full world championship accolade that places it on par with the LMP1 crown in terms of importance.
"I think with GTE we are reaching the same level of performance we had with GT1 in the past, which I drove in with Maserati," he said.
"In GTE-Pro the grid is only manufacturers, so I’d say it’s more competitive than GT1 because the car brands are competing directly against each other."
"This is the biggest moment for GTE-Pro, because it has four manufacturers and next year we gain another one in BMW."
The 2017 season marks a watershed for Pier Guidi, who has been toiling away as an AF Corse driver representing Ferrari's numerous global customer outfits since switching from single seaters to GTs in 2005.
Following a test with other prospective factory assets last year – including Miguel Molina and Nyck de Vries – Pier Guidi was chosen as the best candidate and consequently takes his place in the manufacturer's most prestigious team outside Formula One.
His pedigree is capped by a class victory at the Daytona 24 Hours in 2014, plus multiple wins and pole positions in the Blancpain GT Series and European Le Mans Series.
"It’s great to be here [in WEC] with Ferrari. As an Italian being with Ferrari is something special."
"I have driven for Ferrari for a long time but finally I am a factory driver and this is my first season in WEC. Yes, I did Le Mans last year but finally I am doing the full season."
"It’s not going to be easy this year because I think GTE-Pro is by far the most competitive class in the championship, so we have to push hard to reach the goal at the end of the season."
"My results in ELMS and Blancpain last season helped me to get here, for sure. If you are quick in those series you will get noticed, and I think performing well at that level with AF Corse enabled me to get the Ferrari factory drive in WEC."
"I still love racing in all those series because they are all very serious but WEC is the top, the maximum. It’s my biggest priority this season to do well in WEC, but equally I still enjoy racing in Blancpain because I came up from that championship to be where I am today."
Pier Guidi, Calado and the rest of the GTE-Pro field will line up for the season-opening 6 Hours of Silverstone at 12:00 local time.
