Q&A: what’s it like to race (and crash) a Ferrari at Le Mans?

James, tell us mere mortals what it’s like to race a Ferrari at Le Mans...

First of all, there’s a lot of pressure being an official Ferrari driver. We are needed to perform, and to win. To be British and be part of this Italian family makes me very lucky. To get two world titles, two Le Mans wins and many other victories is very special. I always say Ferrari is unique from any other team. I know all the road car guys, the F1 guys, the GT car guys are one big family and I feel very proud to be part of it. 

How crazy is it to race at night?

We get two night practices. It takes 3-4 laps to get into the rhythm as you’re missing all your reference points so it feels like the corners come quicker. Then it becomes second nature. We can smell the barbeques as we go by, see people dancing around, it’s a nice feeling especially at Le Mans. Unlike other night races there are no lights around the track at Le Mans so you need very good headlights, going past the trees. But I enjoy night stints. Tyres last longer, and engines have more power in the cooler air. 

Is Le Mans really a 24hr sprint race, or do you ever ease off to look after the car?

It depends on the pace we’ve got going into the race. If you’ve got a good balance of performance you can look after the car a bit. If not and you’re missing a few tenths then you need to start using kerbs, pushing, to get that gap back. Using kerbs is not ideal, it breaks dampers.

It’s a fine line between safety and grip that’s hard to manage. But generally those days in GT you are flat out for 24 hours, every single lap. I don’t want to jinx it but the cars are so reliable, they’ve come on in the last few years a lot. In previous years the car needed managing, particularly the brakes. 

And are the cars now easier to drive, and more comfortable? 

It’s not easier as such to drive, it’s just that tech moves on. My first Le Mans was 2014 in a 458, now we’re in the most advanced form of the 488. The car has a bit more grip, the electronics are a little bit better, you just don’t have to worry about much. But every year it doesn’t get any easier, that’s for sure. 

How do you manage to race your class while keeping out of the way of the hypercars?

It used to be more difficult – now the hypercars are slower. We’d look in the mirror, see nothing, then all of a sudden a flash comes past you. These days they’re not as quick coming past you. A few years ago we just held our line. Now we try to manage it so we don’t lose time as they come past. We might indicate or move over, instead of us both losing two or three seconds by fighting each other being idiots, we might lose two or three tenths. 

At Le Mans, you need luck, because of the safety car situation. If you miss the safety car and it picks someone else up you lose 35 or 40 seconds. At Le Mans it’s always important to be at the front and we fight so hard to be the first in line in case there’s a safety car. 

Is it hard to maintain maximum concentration when you’re pushing to be flat out every stint?

I prefer to be pushing. When you start to slow down, you’re more worried the car’s going to break than when you’re busy going flat out. 

What’s the appeal of endurance racing to you?

In terms of endurance racing Le Mans has to be number one. And it’s not just the race itself, it’s the atmosphere, the spectators, the TV audience. I treat every race the same, but I feel lucky to be here. I can’t imagine the cost to race a car here, and it’s not easy to get here, but it’s a good feeling to try to win this race for Ferrari. 

If a car breaks down at the bottom of the Mulsanne Straight, what can you as the driver do to help it back to the pits?

I know this car like the back of my hand. If it goes wrong, I’ll know if I can fix it or not. I know all the procedures. It’s not just resetting things on the steering wheel – there are lots of little things you can do. For example if you run out of fuel, there is a little safety net. But if it’s game over, it’s game over. 

What advice would you give someone who was racing at Le Mans for the first time?

I came from GP2 in 2013/14. When you’re in single seaters, you want to destroy everyone and dominate to make that step into F1. That was my attitude going into endurance and it didn’t work at all. You’ve got two other drivers and you need to understand it’s not necessary to try to be faster than them. You need to work as a team. I made the mistake in my first year of having the wrong attitude and crashed big time in 2014. 

I didn’t even race, as I was in hospital. From that moment I released I needed to take a step back, and realise it’s endurance, not a two-hour race. From there, I started to get the results. So to younger drivers, I’d say don’t have a big ego. Hold back a bit, as Le Mans is not a place to crash. If you crash here, especially in a GT car which is a road car chassis, it can hurt. 

Look out for James racing the number 51 Ferrari 488 GTE at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this weekend.