World Finals – Closing in style for the Daytona event

The first edition of the Finali Mondiali organized in the United States ended with a performance by Scuderia Ferrari drivers, Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel. The Daytona track offered a perfect setting and the almost 140 Ferraris that took to the track on the final day made the atmosphere at the legendary Florida circuit unique.

Success for the auction. The celebrations began on Saturday evening, when the largest parade of Ferraris ever seen on an American track took place, with over 800 cars driven by their owners. This spectacular moment was followed by dinner in which President Sergio Marchionne, after greeting customers and enthusiasts, invited those present to the charity auction for a unique LaFerrari. The car was sold for the record sum of 7 million dollars which will be used for a reconstruction project in central Italy hit by the earthquake: “This is a result that fully demonstrates the generosity of our customers”, commented Sergio Marchionne.

The importance of the USA. Speaking at the end of the press conference of the two Scuderia drivers, President Marchionne expressed his satisfaction with the Daytona event: “It was the right time to come here, and it is no coincidence that the World Finals were celebrated in the United States. This is our first market and Daytona is a legendary track that has welcomed us with the affection of many fans and to which we will try to return more frequently". Meeting the journalists, Sergio Marchionne also addressed the topic of Formula 1, analyzing the team's situation: “I think the change in August represents the beginning of the re-foundation of sports management, we need to give the boys time, they are working very well and let's see what they bring us, but I think this is the solution. I have the utmost confidence in Mattia Binotto, for what he was able to do in his career at Ferrari and what he is doing now in managing the technicians."

Remembering 1967. After the meeting with the journalists, Kimi and Sebastian put on a show at the wheel of two F60s, performing lightning-fast starts, very quick pit stops, together with the Scuderia's mechanics, and the traditional burn-outs. Before returning to the garage, the two passed the finish line paired together in a reference to the famous arrival on parade of the three Ferraris at the 24 Hours of 1967. The show had opened with a reminder of the other success of the Prancing Horse at Daytona, that of 1998, when the F333 SP was the first to pass under the checkered flag. Seven examples of this car paraded on the track, thrilling American enthusiasts who saw it win many races in the mid-nineties. After them it was the turn of the GT drivers at the wheel of the 488 and 458 Italia in which Christina Nielsen also drove, fresh winner of the IMSA championship in the GT-D class with the 488 GT3.

The Challenge. Previously, the three Ferrari single-make world titles had been awarded, going respectively to Carlos Kauffmann, of the Ferrari of Ft. Lauderdale team, in the Trofeo Pirelli, to Sam Smeeth (Stratstone Ferrari) in the Pirelli Pro trophy and to Thomas Loefflad in the Coppa Shell (StileF Squadra Corse). The customers of F1 Clienti and XX Programs also returned to the track for the final sessions, once again giving enthusiasts the thrill of seeing in action many of the single-seaters that have characterized the last years of Formula 1 as well as the very powerful FXX K, equipped with over a thousand horsepower and a very sophisticated hybrid technology derived from Formula 1. In 2017 the Finali Mondiali will return to Italy, at Mugello, but for a long time, drivers, enthusiasts and fans will remember the first American edition of the event organized on the legendary circuit of Daytona.