Ferrari’s works driver Alessio Rovera believes he is ready to graduate to Hypercar machinery after establishing himself as one of the leading figures in the GT3 ranks.
The Italian has climbed to third and then second in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s LMGT3 standings over the last two seasons while piloting an AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3, and he sits seventh in the current year’s WEC table. That position would become fifth if the No. 33 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R crews—which carry slightly different point allocations—are treated as a group.
In addition to his WEC exploits, Rovera has shone in the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS, where he captured the 2024 Endurance Cup title. He nearly claimed victory at this year’s CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa with Nicklas Nielsen and Tommaso Mosca, only to suffer a puncture during the early phase after leading.
Rovera’s first official taste of a Ferrari 499P Hypercar came at the end of last year in the Bahrain rookie test, and he is now setting his sights on earning a seat in one of the cars for real competition.
Asked by Sportscar365 if he feels prepared to join the 499P driver lineup, Rovera replied: “I think so. Ultimately, Hypercar represents the pinnacle of endurance racing, but from a driving perspective it’s not wildly different from GT3 or LMP2. In fact, it sits somewhere in the middle in terms of handling because it’s heavier than LMP2 yet more powerful.”
He continued: “It’s a larger GT car with even more downforce, and the way you drive it is largely similar.”
“I don’t need to change a lot, but landing a chance to race a 499P also depends on factors beyond my control.”
When pressed about what else he could do to demonstrate he merits a Hypercar seat, Rovera emphasized the ongoing effort to improve: “If you settle into a single comfortable position, you won’t stay at the top—you’ll lose performance because comfort can hold you back.”
“I strive to get better every time I’m on track, reviewing my data, studying the data of other drivers, and analyzing every detail. I believe that’s the right approach to progress.”
Ferrari has previously signaled an interest in entering this year’s Asian Le Mans Series in the Hypercar class with the 499P, though Rovera is not convinced that this would necessarily translate into top-tier prototype racing experience for him.
“I really don’t know because we aren’t sure how many cars we could run,” he said.
“And then there are GT programs as well, and I’m currently a GT driver, so in Asia I’d probably be in a GT car—we’ll see.”
For the moment, Rovera is focused on ending Ferrari’s LMGT3 victory drought, which has persisted for more than a year.
He did cross the Spa line as a winner on the road, teaming with Simon Mann and Francois Heriau, but the trio were slapped with a five-second penalty for an unsafe pit-stop release, which relegated them to fourth place.
“I think over these three years we had many chances to win races, but the results didn’t always reflect our potential,” Rovera admitted.
“We crossed the line in P1 on five occasions, yet penalties after the checkered flag cost us multiple wins.”
He added: “The capability is always there; we simply need to manage penalties better and make life a bit easier for ourselves.”
“Unfortunately, Spa cost us a lot of points due to the sanction. Had that not happened, we could be significantly further ahead, but we’re ready for a strong result and we have everything needed to be in the mix.”
