AF Corse is an Italian

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

team founded by former racing driver Amato Ferrari in 1995 in

Piacenza Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...

. Strongly linked to the

Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914 in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...

and

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

brands, AF Corse currently competes in the

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship, abbreviated as WEC, is a world championship for automobile endurance racing organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The se ...

, GT World Challenge Europe,

European Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

Asian Le Mans Series The Asian Le Mans Series (ALMS) is an Asian sports car racing endurance series created by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and based in Asia. It is the successor to the defunct Japan Le Mans Challenge which folded in 2007 after its second s ...

, and International GT Open, and are four-time champions of the GT2 class of the former

FIA GT Championship The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout ...

. The team has also entered cars under Advanced Engineering, AT Racing, PeCom Racing, Spirit of Race, Formula Racing, 8Star Motorsports and MR Racing, and in association with

Michael Waltrip Racing Michael Waltrip Racing Holdings LLC, doing business as Michael Waltrip Racing ("MWR"), was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed full-time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The company was as a 50–50 partnership betwe ...

(AF Waltrip).

History

In 1995, Amato Ferrari (no relation to the family of

Enzo Ferrari Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Maria Ferrari (; ; 18 February 1898 – 14 August 1988) was an Italian racing driver and entrepreneur, the founder of Scuderia Ferrari in Grand Prix motor racing, and subsequently of the Ferrari automobile marque. Under h ...

and his

car company) retired from driving and chose to concentrate on team management, initially entering the Italian Superturismo Championship. Following the series' demise in 1999, Ferrari launched a new team known as AF Corse (in English, "AF Racing"), named for his initials. The team turned to

sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing that uses sports cars with two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built Sports prototype, sports prototypes, which are the highest level in sports car racing; or grand to ...

, and within a year was contracted by

. AF Corse was tasked with the development, maintenance, and transport of the Trofeo Cup, a one-make series based on the

Maserati Coupé The Maserati Coupé and Spyder (''Tipo M138'') are a series of grand tourers produced by Italian automaker Maserati from 2001 to 2007. The two nameplates refer to the four-seater coupé and two-seater convertible models, respectively. The design ...

. The company would continue in this position until 2005. During 2004, Maserati approached AF Corse about running their latest development in sports car racing: the new Maserati MC12 for the international

. The team aided Maserati in testing and developing the car before running the two new racers in their home event at

Imola Imola (; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical region Romagna ...

. Drivers Fabrizio de Simone,

Andrea Bertolini Andrea Bertolini (born 1 December 1973, in Sassuolo) is an Italian professional racing driver currently driving for AF Corse in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He is the official test driver of the Maserati factory. Bertolini began racing a ...

, Mika Salo, and

Johnny Herbert John Paul Herbert (born 25 June 1964) is a British former racing driver and broadcaster. He competed in Formula One from to , winning three Formula One Grands Prix over a 12-season career. In endurance racing, Herbert won the 24 Hours of Le ...

were all assigned to the team, eventually earning AF Corse two victories before the season ended. Once the development of the MC12 was satisfied, the company returned to running the Trofeo Cup, as well as running a Maserati Light in the 2005

Italian GT Championship The Italian GT Championship (''Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo'') is an Italian sports car series founded in 2003 and organized by the Automobile Club d'Italia (ACI) and the Commissione Sportiva Automobilistica Italiana (CSAI). It replaced a ...

AF Corse returned to the FIA GT Championship in 2006. This time however they would be running the latest Ferrari offering, the

Ferrari F430 The Ferrari F430 (Type F131) is a sports car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari from 2004 until 2009 as a successor to the Ferrari 360. The car is an update to the 360 with exterior and performance changes. It was unveiled a ...

, as well as competing in the series' lower category, the GT2 class. Salo was retained in the driving line-up, while newcomers Rui Águas, Jaime Melo, and Matteo Bobbi completed the standard line-up. Victory was earned in the team's debut at

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...

, and another two were earned over the season, including at the

Spa 24 Hours The 24 Hours of Spa is an endurance racing event for cars held annually since 1924 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium. It is currently sponsored by CrowdStrike. History The Spa 24 Hours was conceived by Jules de Their and ...

. AF Corse won the class championship, beating fellow Ferrari competitor Scuderia Ecosse. The company retained their connection to Maserati however, entering a trio of cars in the new FIA GT3 European Championship. As defending champions, AF Corse remained in the FIA GT Championship in 2007, although much on the team changed. While the Ferrari F430s remained, all new drivers were introduced to the team. Dirk Müller, Toni Vilander, Gianmaria Bruni, and Stephane Ortelli took over driving duties for the season, while

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois. It was founded by brothers Paul and Joseph Galvin in 1928 and had been named Motorola since 1947. Many of Motorola's products had been ...

announced their full sponsorship of the squad. The two cars dominated the 2007 season, winning nine of the ten events on the schedule and wrapping up another championship. For 2008, AF Corse expanded to a three car team in the GT2 class. Vilander and Bruni are retained in the lead car, while Biagi returns to the squad to be joined by Christian Montanari in the second entry. The third car will be run under the Advanced Engineering name, with

Argentinian Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

Matías Russo and

Luís Pérez Companc Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

In 2010, the

was dissolved and two new championships were born from it. The GT1 class of the former series became the

FIA GT1 World Championship The FIA GT1 World Championship was a world championship sports car racing series, developed by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation, SRO Group and regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), that was held from 2010 to 2012. I ...

while the GT2 class formed the FIA GT2 European Championship. The GT2 series was suspended due to lack of entries. As a result, the AF Corse team joined the

Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the ...

. For the 2010 season, the team fielded three Ferrari F430 GT2s for the series' GT2 class. Drivers Matías Russo and

campaigned the #94 Ferrari with Toni Vilander and former Grand Prix drivers

Jean Alesi Jean Robert Alesi (; born Giovanni Roberto Alesi, 11 June 1964) is a French former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Alesi won the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix with Ferrari. Born and raised in Avignon, Alesi started karting a ...

and

Giancarlo Fisichella Giancarlo "Giano" Fisichella (; born 14 January 1973), also known as Fisico or Fisi, is an Italian racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Fisichella won three Formula One Grands Prix across 14 seasons. Bo ...

in the #95.

ALMS Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of Charity (practice), charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving. Etymology The word ''alms'' come ...

regulars, with the

Risi Competizione Risi Competizione is an Italo- American auto racing Ferrari factory-backed team formed by Giuseppe Risi in 1997. Initially, the team had a partnership with Doyle Racing using the name Doyle-Risi Racing, but soon Giuseppe Risi took full control of ...

team, Jaime Melo and Gianmaria Bruni drove the Ferrari #96. In 2011 AF Corse entered the

Intercontinental Le Mans Cup The Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (shortened ILMC) was an endurance sports car racing tournament organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) started in 2010.

with brand new Ferrari 458 Italia GT2s as well as the FIA GT3 European Championship with Ferrari 458 Italia GT3s. AF Corse won the ILMC in the GTE-Pro category, including the final round at

Petit Le Mans Petit Le Mans (French language, French for ''Little Le Mans'') is a sports car racing, sports car Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, United States. The race has been held for a durat ...

. It also won the FIA GT3 driver's championship with Francisco Catellaci and Federico Leo. The team also joined the International GT Open for the 2010 season in the Super GT class, which is largely reminiscent of the GT2 rules in the

. The team fields two Ferrari GT2 cars for drivers Jack Gerber & Rui Águas in the #6 car and

Pierre Kaffer Pierre Kaffer (born 7 November 1976 in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Rhineland-Palatinate) is a race car driver from Germany, currently living in Switzerland. Career In 1990, Kaffer started in Kart racing, Karting, moving in 1994 to Formula Ford, late ...

and Álvaro Barba in the #8 Ferrari. AF Corse will also field a third Ferrari (#7) for the AT Racing team with drivers Alexander Talkanitsa and his son Alexander Talkanitsa Jr. For 2012, AF Corse competed in a variety of sports car championships throughout Europe and globally, including the

and

GT1 World Championship The FIA GT1 World Championship was a world championship sports car racing series, developed by the SRO Group and regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), that was held from 2010 to 2012. It featured multiple grand tou ...

with Ferrari F458 Italia GT2s and Ferrari F458 Italia GT3s, including a co-branded for GTE-Am class car with

, AF Waltrip. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, amateur driver Piergiuseppe Perazzini collided with the No. 8 Toyota driven by overall-contender

Anthony Davidson Anthony Denis Davidson (born 18 April 1979) is a British former racing driver and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One between and . In endurance racing, Davidson won the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2014 with Toyota. Born in Hem ...

, sending the Toyota airborne at the Mulsanne Corner. Perazzini's Ferrari also flipped and landed on its roof after hitting the tyre barrier. Davidson suffered two broken vertebrae in the crash but was able to pull himself from the car in the immediate aftermath of the accident - though of course he was forced to abandon the race. The AF Corse #51 car driven by Gianmaria Bruni,

and Toni Vilander won the GTE Pro race beating Corvette, Porsche and Aston Martin. In 2023, AF Corse and

Scuderia Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari (; ), currently racing under Scuderia Ferrari HP, is the racing division of luxury Italian auto manufacturer Ferrari and the racing team that competes in Formula One racing. The team is also known by the nickname "the Pranc ...

announced a partnership to field the marque's new 499P hypercar in that year's edition of the

. After a successful season that year, including winning at

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

in the centenary edition – and Ferrari's first Le Mans in the top class in 50 years – the team decided to field a yellow-coloured privateer entry, and drafted in

Robert Kubica Robert Józef Kubica (; born 7 December 1984) is a Polish racing driver, racing and rally driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for AF Corse. Kubica competed in Formula One between and , and the World Rally Championship ...

Robert Shwartzman Robert Mikhailovich Shwartzman (, ; ; born 16 September 1999) is a Russian and Israeli racing driver, who competes in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 83 Chevrolet for Prema Racing. Shwartzman previously competed in the FIA Formula 2 Champi ...

and Yifei Ye to pilot the #83 machine. They led much of the 2024 edition of Le Mans, before retiring with an engine failure.. In the 2025 Le Mans 24h, the yellow #83 won, while #51 and #50 were beaten by one of the

Porsche 963 The Porsche 963 (Type 9R0) is an LMDh sports prototype racing car designed by Porsche and built by Multimatic, to compete in the Hypercar and GTP (Grand Touring Prototype) classes in the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA SportsCar Champi ...

which are built according to slightly different rules (LMDh), and running not only in the WEC, but also in North American IMSA-series. The collaboration with the Ferrari Hypercar team has largely been a success, at Le Mans in particular, with each of the three cars (#51, #50, #83) winning the marquee event from

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

. This '' threepeat'' means that all nine of their works drivers, mostly unchanged across the years, have won the race:

Antonio Fuoco Antonio Fuoco (born 20 May 1996) is an Italian racing driver who is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Ferrari AF Corse in the Ferrari 499P. He also serves as a development driver for the Scuderia Ferrari Formula One ...

, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen in car #50, and Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and

Antonio Giovinazzi Antonio Maria Giovinazzi (; born 14 December 1993) is an Italian racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Ferrari. Giovinazzi competed in Formula One between and . In endurance racing, Giovinazzi won the 24 Hour ...

in car #51.

Results

24 Hours of Le Mans

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters

FIA World Endurance Championship

AF Corse-Waltrip

AF Corse-Waltrip, also known as AF-Waltrip, is a former professional sportscar team. The company was a 50–50 partnership between

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

co-owners

Michael Waltrip Michael Curtis Waltrip (born April 30, 1963) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, racing commentator, racing team owner, amateur ballroom dancing competitor and published author. He is the younger brother of three-time NASC ...

and Rob Kauffman. In 2011, Michael Waltrip Racing entered into a technical alliance with AF Corse to provide them sportscars to race in the

and

Rolex Sports Car Series The Rolex Sports Car Series was the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It was a North American-based sports car series founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed ...

. AF Corse-Waltrip shut down their sportscar team in 2013 to concentrate on

Racing Results

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

There was no drivers championship that year, the result indicates team rank in the LMGTE Am Trophy.

Rolex Sports Car Series Points

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:AF Corse Italian auto racing teams 1995 establishments in Italy Auto racing teams established in 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans teams FIA GT Championship teams FIA GT1 World Championship teams European Le Mans Series teams FIA World Endurance Championship teams International GT Open teams GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup teams British GT Championship teams World Series Formula V8 3.5 teams WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters teams Ferrari in motorsport