After Ferrari dominated the start of the 2025 World Endurance Championship season with four wins in as many races, the question on everyone’s mind ahead of the Sao Paulo 6 Hours this weekend was whether it would be slowed down by the Balance of Performance.
Now, we finally have the answer.
But before we get to that, a quick reminder is in order.
At the Le Mans 24 Hours, due to the characteristics of the track and the importance of the event, the BoP was not based on previous races. There was no manufacturer compensation, meaning it was solely determined by homologation parameters and the governing bodies’ attempt to give every car a similar - or nearly similar - top speed.
Moreover, the data gathered at Le Mans is not taken into account when determining the BoP for subsequent races. For Interlagos, each competitor’s manufacturer compensation is based on their two best results from the first three races of the season.
At least, that’s the case if the ACO/FIA alliance that runs the series hasn’t changed its calculation methods, something it does quite regularly without publicly announcing it - as was the case last year before the Sao Paulo 6 Hours or this year ahead of the Spa-Francorchamps 6 Hours.
Since the BoP is also based on homologation parameters and circuit characteristics, it is always difficult to interpret. However, the table below (which also includes the BoP values from the 2025 Le Mans 24 Hours, the 2025 Spa 6 Hours, and the 2024 Sao Paulo 6 Hours) clearly shows that Ferrari is, unsurprisingly, the most heavily impacted manufacturer. The differences compared to the 2025 Spa 6 Hours - the last WEC round before Le Mans - are shown in parentheses.
The Ferrari 499P should be significantly slowed down, which comes as no surprise. Are these significant changes solely due to manufacturers' compensation, or have the governing bodies given themselves the right to intervene manually? It's difficult to say, but we'll soon find out.
But what will the actual impact be? At Spa, many already expected the Ferrari to be reeled in, yet it wasn’t. In fact, the car has seemed immune to BoP adjustments since the beginning of the season, even standing out at Le Mans with surprisingly high top speeds.
So the real question remains: will these new changes finally be enough? After these adjustments, Cadillac, Porsche and Toyota appear to be in a much better position than they were in Belgium, while Alpine and BMW are paying the price for their strong performances in the early part of the season.
It’s worth recalling that last year at Interlagos, the 499P debuted its Evo Joker kit, which always comes with a slightly more restrictive BoP, until the authorities are able to assess the benefits of the updates. The three Ferraris entered could do no better than fifth, sixth and 11th.
That race was dominated by Toyota, which, on a track particularly demanding on tyres, leveraged its race management expertise, and above all, a better understanding and use of the tyres than the competition.
If Ferrari once again manages to overcome the BoP this Sunday, it could claim a fifth consecutive win in a single season, a feat last accomplished by Toyota in 2021. But back then, the level of competition was much lower.
More importantly, with a 77-point lead over Toyota and 88 over Porsche in the manufacturers’ championship, Ferrari could take one more step toward securing its first World Endurance title since 1972.
The key question now is whether the BoP can truly put an end to the 499P’s dominance…
