In a notable shift from the previous year’s grand unveiling of the SF-23, which saw a gathering of 500 at their Fiorano circuit, this year’s Ferrari event was more subdued, reflecting the team’s intent to focus on performance rather than fanfare.
Despite the high expectations set for the SF-23, Ferrari only managed a single victory in the 22-race season, ending third in the Constructors’ Championship, significantly behind leading team, Red Bull, by 454 points.
The unveiling of the SF-24, Ferrari’s contender for 2024, took place via an online stream from their Shell garage at Fiorano, showcasing a vehicle adorned in Ferrari’s iconic red with accents of white and yellow. Charles Leclerc with Sainz, who will be departing Ferrari at the season’s end for Hamilton, will pilot the car with Ferrari aiming to reassert themselves in the championship race against Max Verstappen and Red Bull with this launch.
Ferrari is seeking a return to their former glory days, having last secured the Drivers’ Championship with Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 and the Constructors’ Championship in 2008. Since then, the team has watched on as rivals like Red Bull and Mercedes have dominated the sport.
Following the disappointments and missed chances of the previous season, Ferrari has significantly redesigned their car. Team principal Fred Vasseur has announced that the SF-24 is “95 per cent new,” although he refrained from describing the update as revolutionary due to the stable regulations governing the sport.
“Revolution – I don’t know if it is the right word because we have the same regulation now three years in a row that you can’t change massively the situation,” he said.
“Again, it’s a matter of tenths of seconds. It means it’s all 0.1 or 0.2 per cent performance that we are looking for. It’s not five [per cent]. For sure, we have to do a step. I don’t underestimate the step.
“We are changing 95 per cent of the components of the car. Perhaps you can consider that it’s a revolution.”
The Italian team has retained the previous year’s front push and rear pull suspension setup, introducing a car with a significantly larger diffuser than before.
Carlos Sainz, set to test the car’s performance in a shakedown later today, shared with the media, that the car exhibited different behavior in the simulator. However, he noted that the Scuderia would only be able to determine whether these changes represent an improvement once the car has been tested on the track.
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