Molina replaces Bird in Ferrari WEC line-up
Ferrari has announced that Miguel Molina will replace Sam Bird in its FIA World Endurance Championship line-up for the 2019/20 season.

Last month, the Italian manufacturer stated that Bird's place in the #71 car alongside Davide Rigon was vulnerable owing to the multiple clashes between WEC and his Envision Virgin Racing Formula E programme, although at least one of these has been averted since then.
Now Ferrari has confirmed that Molina, who has acted as Rigon and Bird's co-driver in the Le Mans 24 Hours since 2017, will step up to a full-time role for the new season.
A team spokesperson told Motorsport.com: "The situation with the calendar is still not clear and there is still the possibility of clashes. Today [Tuesday] is the day that we had to nominate drivers with the FIA, so we had to take a decision."
Read Also:
Molina has been a mainstay of Ferrari's GT3 programmes in recent seasons and currently leads the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup points for SMP Racing alongside Rigon and Mikhail Aleshin ahead of next month's Barcelona finale.
Ferrari's statement added that Bird's programme "will be announced in due course", with the spokesperson saying it is likely the Briton will partner Molina and Rigon at Le Mans in 2020.
James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi will continue as a duo in the sister #51 488 GTE for the new season, which begins at Silverstone on September 1.
Ferrari's announcement completes the driver line-up for GTE Pro WEC field, with rival brands Aston Martin and Porsche both maintaining unchanged line-ups from 2018/19.

Previous article
Aston Martin refreshes WEC GTE Am line-up
Next article
Ginetta announces WEC line-ups for Silverstone

About this article
Series | WEC |
Drivers | Sam Bird , Miguel Molina |
Teams | AF Corse |
Author | Jamie Klein |
Molina replaces Bird in Ferrari WEC line-up
Trending
Ferrari enters LMH from 2023
Peugeot in sportscars
WEC: 2021 Entry list revealed!
WEC: What is a Hypercar?
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing: GR010 HYBRID HYPERCAR
Why Ferrari is ending its 50-year top-flight sportscar racing exile
Making a return to top-flight sportscar racing after 50 years away, Ferrari will enter the Le Mans Hypercar ranks in 2023. The Italian marque denies the link with Formula 1's new cost cap that frees up resources, but it's certainly no coincidence...
The GTE dilemma that IMSA has created for the WEC
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s decision to scrap its GT Le Mans class for 2022 raises the question of whether the FIA World Endurance Championship should phase out GTE cars. But it's a much harder decision than it appears on the surface.
The ground-up refresh behind Toyota's new Le Mans challenger
Toyota's new GR010 contender for the World Endurance Championship's Hypercar era has little in common with the LMP1 TS050 that preceded it. But within the confines of the scaled back new rules, its latest challenger will be no less formidable a prospect
The tiny increments that decided the final LMP1-era WEC
The system of success handicaps devised by the FIA World Endurance Championship to level the LMP1 playing field in the category's swansong season ended up having a counterproductive effect, as COVID cancellations also played in the champions' favour.
Why Audi’s shock return promises a new age for sportscars
OPINION: The news that Audi will return to Le Mans means we'll at last get to see the fight promised in 2012 against Peugeot and Toyota. It also gives LMDh a tangible form, which could open the floodgates for more like-minded marques to follow suit…
The eternal debate revived after the 2019/20 WEC season
It may have been missed amid the clamour over Lewis Hamilton's seventh F1 title, but Britain had another world champion crowned last weekend. Mike Conway's WEC crown raises an old conundrum - does title glory make up for the pain of Le Mans defeat?
The 10 greatest LMP1 races ranked
As the LMP1 class prepares to bow out of top-line sportscar racing at the World Endurance Championship season finale in Bahrain this weekend, Motorsport.com looks back over the past two decades to pick out the 10 of its best contests
Why COVID-19 didn't stop Peugeot's Le Mans commitment
When the global pandemic hit, Peugeot was given the perfect excuse to back out of its stated intention to return to Le Mans in 2022. That it hasn't done so is telling both of its unfinished business and the opportunities presented by the Hypercar rulebook