Ferrari reserve driver in seventh heaven: He celebrates the WEC world championship title in Bahrain in the Ferrari 499P, but he is already on his way to see his daughter.
Antonio Giovinazzi has achieved a feat that may remain unique: the Italian, who competed in a total of 62 Formula 1 races between 2017 and 2021, won the World Endurance Championship (WEC) title in Bahrain together with his teammates James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi.
No sooner had he left the cockpit than he flew home for the birth of his daughter. In the WEC, which is built around the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the grand finale took place last weekend with the 8 Hours of Bahrain. Giovinazzi, Calado, and Pier Guidi traveled to as-Sakhir as the leaders in the standings in their factory-entered Ferrari 499P hypercar.
His direct opponent was an old acquaintance: Robert Kubica, who has also made his mark in Formula 1, fought for the title alongside Yifei Ye and Phil Hanson. The trio had won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a privately entered Ferrari 499P from the same team (AF Corse), but came up short in the World Championship.
The Porsche duo Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor from the Penske works team also had a theoretical chance, but after starting from last place on the grid, they played no role in the battle for the top spots.
During the 8-hour race, which started in the early afternoon and went on into the night, Giovinazzi drove a double stint of 63 laps right at the start of the race in air temperatures of over 30 degrees Celsius. He then handed over the wheel in second place and did not see any more action for the rest of the race.
He announced the reason via Instagram: “I’m becoming world champion and a dad on the same night. Together with mom, we welcome you with all our love. Welcome to the world, Ginevra Madia.” However, he had to stay in Bahrain to attend the world championship press conference. He was not there for the big victory ceremony on Sunday evening.
Giovinazzi reacts to his first world title with Ferrari WEC 8HBahrain Ferrari @Anto_Giovinazzi @FerrariHypercar pic.twitter.com/VzZonFc8Sm
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) November 8, 2025
“We’ve been working towards this title for three years. We’ve grown as a team, every year, every race. We’ve had a fantastic season together,” says Giovinazzi.
“The first part is definitely the most difficult part of the race,” he continues. He is referring to the fact that it is the hottest part of the race, but at the same time, tires have to be saved for possible late safety car phases (which actually happened in the race). I think everything was perfect today, there were no mistakes at all, and that was the key to success.”
First Ferrari prototype world championship in 53 years
While he stayed in touch with his wife, Pier Guidi and Calado continued to battle on the track. Ferrari had no chance against the two Toyota GR010 Hybrids, but the 50 was disqualified.
The 2025 WEC season was a walk in the park for the Ferrari 499P. They won the first four races in a row, including Le Mans. After that, the Italian hypercars were sharply slowed down in the Balance of Performance (BoP), but were still good enough for podium finishes.
Calado, Pier Guidi, and Giovinazzi had already won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the Ferrari in 2023. The other two cars took the Le Mans victory in 2024 and 2025. Ferrari has only now won a world championship title. In addition to the drivers’ championship, the manufacturers’ championship also goes to Maranello. It is the first title for a Ferrari sports car prototype since winning the 1972 World Championship. Antonio and Antonella Giovinazzi probably didn’t care about that at the time. The 31-year-old can now enjoy his new family happiness. At the same time, he is also a test and reserve driver for Ferrari’s Formula 1 team. He shares this role with Guanyu Zhou.
