With mere weeks to go before the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship gets off the line in Qatar on 2nd March, VistaJet and AF Corse have unveiled their new look for the season at a star-studded launch party in Milan.
The event on 15th February seamlessly blended the two worlds of luxury aviation and elite motorsport while also raising the profile of the Ferrari-backed team and its chosen charity, the Princess Charlene Foundation.
Hosted in a specially transformed hangar at the Milan Linate airport, the guests, which included the likes of Monegasque F1 driver Charles Leclerc and his teammate Carlos Sainz as well as Princess Charlene’s brother Gareth Wittstock, were able to get up-close and personal with the two Ferrari 296 LMGT3 cars that will be raced this season.
Given the backdrop, the event was also the perfect opportunity to showcase three premium craft from Vista’s fleet: the Challenger 350, a Global 7500 and an AW189 helicopter.
“Thank you so much to all, from near and far, for coming to the official Vista AF Corse launch event,” VistaJet founder and chairman Thomas Flohr, who also races for the team, told the crowd. “2024 marks a special celebration, 20 exciting years of Vista; a company that has evolved from one jet to now over 300 jets, covering 96% of the world. Who’d have thought all those years ago, when launching the first silver with a red stripe aircraft, we’d be standing where we are today, launching Vista AF Corse in the exact same livery? FIA WEC is at an incredible inflection point, with nine manufacturers joining WEC GT in 2024, competing in what is the highest level of motorsport next to F1, a true world championship.”
Amato Ferrari, the former racing driver turned founder and Team Principal for AF Corse, also had some affirmative words to share, adding, “Our goal is to excel on the global stage, and I’m confident in the exceptional talent of our drivers to make that a reality.”
Flohr’s co-driver in Car #54, Francesco Castellacci, meanwhile, was keen to use his moment in the spotlight to highlight the team’s support for the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, which will have its logo featuring prominently on the new livery.
“Every point we win is not just a victory on the track, but a step forward in promoting health, sportsmanship, and safety among children, thanks to our collaboration with the Foundation,” he said.
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L-R in main photo: Davide Rigon, Francesco Castellacci and Thomas Flohr. Photo credit: VistaJet