2022: ELMS title
A step to the international scene came in 2022, where Ferrari switched allegiance to Porsche and raced for Proton Competition in the European Le Mans Series, pairing up with works driver Gianmaria Bruni and team owner Christian Ried. [8] The year began with a podium at Le Castellet, with teammate Bruni losing out on victory by a mere tenth of a second. [9] During the second round in Imola however, contact on the opening lap would force the squad out of the race. [10] This setback would be rectified at Monza, as, with Ried having taken pole position, the team ended up with another second place. [11] [12] At round four, Ferrari would help his team to take their only win of the season, winning in Barcelona to grab the championship lead. [13] [14] A pair of top-five finishes in the remaining two races meant that Ferrari, Bruni and Ried were crowned champions of the LMGTE category. [15] [16]
Ferrari combined his ELMS exploits with a GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup programme in Winward Racing's Gold Cup effort, sharing a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo with Lucas Auer and gentleman driver Jens Liebhauser. [17] Despite getting class pole at the season opener in Imola, the trio struggled to find success and finished tenth in the Gold Cup standings with 31 points. They had achieved their first win at the Barcelona round, but a post-race penalty for Auer spinning Arjun Maini round on the final lap demoted them to sixth place. [18] Ferrari's performances in the 2022 season earned him an upgrade to gold status in the FIA's driver categorisation for 2023. [19]
Italian
FIA Silver (until 2022)
FIA Gold (2023–)