Ferrari Drivers Praise the New Hypercar

When you’re driving for the Ferrari Formula 1 team, it’s part of the job description to say nice things about the road cars carrying the Prancing Horse. Carlos Sainz Jr. and Charles Leclerc were asked by the higher-ups from Maranello to hop behind the seat of the new flagship to shoot a promotional film. The video must’ve been recorded before the F80’s official debut considering the hypercar is still wearing camouflage.

Shot at Ferrari’s own Fiorano track in Italy, the clip shows the two F1 drivers enjoying the massive 1,184 horsepower delivered by the electrified V-6 engine. Of all the praise words the two had to say about the LaFerrari’s successor, Leclerc’s last statement was the most interesting: “It’s the best Ferrari balance I’ve ever driven.” That can be interpreted in two ways.

It’s either the most balanced street-legal Ferrari ever or the best of them all, meaning it’s more composed than the F1 car the 27-year-old Monégasque pilots for a living. Logic tells us he was likely referring to cars that have a license plate but leaving room for interpretation in an official promo clip is not ideal. That’s especially true since the Ferrari F1 team has been struggling for years, although 2024 has been a better year than previous seasons.

The onboard footage would’ve shown just the driver had Ferrari stuck to its original plan of making the F80 strictly a one-seater. The initial idea was to give the Italian hypercar a narrower cabin by getting rid of the passenger seat. It wouldn’t have been the company’s single-seater since the Monza SP1 also had room only for a driver. The track-only 499P Modificata is also a one-person affair.

Ferrari didn’t even need to shoot this video with Sainz Jr. and Leclerc to sell more cars. The F80 has long been sold out, despite costing €3.6 million and having only a V-6 engine, which Ferrari says is better than the old V-12. Production won’t start until late 2025 and only 799 will be assembled. Although not confirmed, there could be a convertible and a hardcore XX further down the line.