Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc declined to disclose the Maranello team’s schedule for introducing upgrades on the SF-24 single-seater, noting that the timeframe remains fluid as the Italian side strives to narrow the gap to Red Bull, commencing from the fourth round of the 2024 Formula 1 campaign, the Japanese Grand Prix, which is set to take place at the 5.807-kilometre Suzuka International Racing Course this weekend.
Carlos Sainz secured an unexpected victory two years ago at the Albert Park circuit in the Australian Grand Prix following Max Verstappen’s retirement in Melbourne, a result that allowed Ferrari to reduce the gap between the teams to a mere four points in the constructors’ championship. However, Red Bull still maintains a significant pace advantage, especially in terms of race pace, which means the Italian side has to focus on the first big aerodynamic package in the hope that it will be able to further reduce the deficit to the Austrian side.
Red Bull is also introducing their own upgrades this weekend in Japan, sparking concerns of another substantial leap forward under the guidance of Adrian Newey, the mastermind behind the team’s consecutive 1-2 finishes in the opening races of the 2024 Formula One season and their championship-winning cars in the previous two years.
“I don’t think I can say when we’ll bring the upgrades, however I can say that it changes based on what we try in the wind tunnel. Obviously we’re trying to squeeze the times to produce those parts, for it to be as early as possible in the season because every race, we gain that potential points, so we’re pushing to have them as early as possible in the season, I can’t answer when.” – Charles Leclerc pointed out ahead of the Suzuka weekend.
At Suzuka, Charles Leclerc experienced a significant setback in his championship aspirations two seasons ago, as a post-race penalty effectively ended his chances of overtaking Max Verstappen. Despite winning two of the first three races of the 2022 Formula 1 season, Ferrari was not able to mount a title challenge against Red Bull due to a series of power unit reliability issues, poor strategy decisions, before being outdeveloped by Red Bull in the second part of the year.
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In 2023, Scuderia Ferrari faced challenges at Suzuka, while McLaren achieved a notable milestone with their third double podium of the V6 era. Despite this, the Monegasque driver secured a commendable fourth-place finish. Looking ahead to 2024, McLaren anticipates a reduction in their advantage over the chasing pack at Suzuka. However, there remains optimism within Ferrari that they can reclaim a spot on the Suzuka podium, a track beloved by drivers for its traditional appeal.
“Like every track, it always feels better when you’ve got a nice car to drive and especially on such a confidence track like Suzuka. This track is absolutely amazing, the feeling you get in the first sector with the esses is amazing, if you get out of the right operational window of the car it becomes a lot more challenging, might be not as fun but it’s always something special to be driving F1 cars around Suzuka and yeah we’ll try to target the right balance for this weekend.” – the Ferrari explained during Media Day on Thursday.
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