Ferrari turned out to be a real surprise during the tests in Bahrain, placing itself behind only Max Verstappen’s Red Bull. This position is the result of Ferrari’s work, which has made significant progress on the SF-24 single-seater, according to Charles Leclerc.
The mere three days of testing highlighted a revived Ferrari, especially when compared to the car that raced in 2023. The SF-23 car was designed to address some of the shortcomings of the F1-75 but hit the track with many more issues. One of them was unpredictability, leading drivers to make mistakes or struggle to find the right setup. Everyone expected a mediocre car, but the engineers led by Enrico Cardile managed to “reverse” the situation, bringing an excellent base to the track. Charles Leclerc’s comments on media day ahead of the first round of the 2024 Formula 1 season confirm Ferrari’s progress with the SF-24 and further support the improvements made by the Italian side.
The Ferrari driver with number 16 on the chassis shared his thoughts on the initial experiences on board. The first question posed to Charles Leclerc was about his initial impressions of the driving style required for the SF-24, and a comparison with the past did not go unnoticed.
“No, it’s a very different car. From a driving point of view, it’s a bit easier to control if there are changes with the wind, and it is also if there are different temperature conditions. One of the positive things is that it responds better to setup changes, it’s more consistent. This makes it a bit more similar to the 2022 car; however, in terms of balance itself, it’s a different car.” – the Monegasque driver pointed out.
During the testing days in Bahrain, Charles Leclerc had shared his thoughts on some issues that needed correction on the SF-24, and adjustments might be ready. Among them are difficulties in low-speed corners with slight understeer and other details that both the Monegasque and the Ferrari engineers are working on.
“At the moment, we are having a bit of difficulty getting the car to rotate. I think this is the trend around the paddock when I look at the onboard footage, and it seems that everyone is having problems with this. But it’s just a matter of which team will be the least limited by this. At the moment, we have some work to do on this.” – the Ferrari man concluded ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sakhir.
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Source: f1ingenerale
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