Ferrari’s SF-24 Is Revealed

The Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 team has today unveiled its new car for the 2024 season, the SF-24, during an online-only event at its Maranello HQ in northern Italy, with Ferrari CEO John Elkann and team principal Fred Vasseur totally focussed on returning the iconic team to the very front of the grid.

Hopes are high, of course, that the new car will be fast, but that it will also behave far better than its predecessor, which was so often very quick over a single lap but fell well short of matching Red Bull’s RB19 in race conditions. Last year, the team achieved only a single Grand Prix victory, courtesy of Carlos Sainz in Singapore, and finished third in the Constructors’ Championship, just three points behind Mercedes.

The focus has been on making the handling of the car more predictable and thus easier to drive on the limit, which, of course, is exactly what F1 racing is all about. There’s also an old motor-racing adage that, if a car really looks the business, it will probably race well too, and the new SF-24 certainly seems to fall into this category.

At today’s launch, 55-year-old Vasseur described his pre-season optimism: “Presenting a new car to the world for the first time is always a very exciting moment for me and the drivers, even if we are all already thinking about the moment we will go head-to-head with our rivals on track.” The experienced Frenchman then elucidated further on their philosophy for the way ahead: “The longest Formula 1 season ever awaits us, and Charles, Carlos, and I all agree that we must be more clinical and effective in how we manage the races, making bold choices, in order to get the best possible result at every Grand Prix.”

There will certainly be interesting times ahead on the driver front after recent events. The 26-year-old Monégasque, Charles Leclerc, made his F1 debut for Ferrari back in 2019 and, a short while ago, agreed to a multi-year contract extension to remain with them and not seek pastures new elsewhere. It represents both career security and an increase in remuneration for the highly regarded driver and will fend off any potential interest from key rivals, for the time being at least.

However, when Leclerc agreed to the deal, he was apparently unaware of the team’s then-secret intention to drop his close friend and fellow driver Sainz at the end of the forthcoming season to make way for the unexpected arrival of Sir Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes on a two-year contract. Leclerc and Sainz have worked well together on and off track, and it will be fascinating to see how the Leclerc/Hamilton pairing gels next year, not to mention what may lie ahead for Sainz.

The launch season continues tomorrow at Silverstone, where Mercedes and McLaren will be centre stage.