The SF-24 EVO wasted no time, hitting the Fiorano track on Thursday morning to cover its first kilometers. Using the second filming day available for the 2024 F1 season, the Maranello team debuted the car equipped with the first update package set to premiere at Imola, taking advantage of the 200 km allowed by the FIA for commercial filming and also to introduce the developments aimed at closing the gap to Red Bull and getting ahead of McLaren.
A package that, as scheduled, arrived on the eve of the GP of Made in Italy and Emilia Romagna and will be “tested” by Ferrari’s technicians from the data gathered during the Fiorano filming day. This data, along with feedback from the drivers, appears promising for the continuation of the season, as the improvements sought (especially in high-speed corners) seem to have been achieved. This is the scenario outlined by Italian journalist Franco Nugnes for Motorsport Italy.
“Data analysis is underway: Ferrari’s technicians are evaluating the information collected yesterday during the Fiorano filming day. […] The engineers, led by Matteo Togninalli, focused mainly on the only high-speed curve characterizing the 3 km layout of Fiorano, and comments from Charles Leclerc on the SF-24 Evo’s performance at that point were indicative: there are not only numbers read in the wind tunnel and simulator, but also feedback from the drivers on the car’s behavior.”
Developments that, in fact, have involved several areas of the single-seater: primarily the new sidepods, now no longer with the “tray” in the lower area but at the top of the radiator ducts, likely with the intent of better separating the flows directed underneath, towards the floor, from those directed to the upper area, towards the halo. A new shape of the upper part of the belly and a revision of the aerodynamics at the sides of the Halo mount, working in synergy with the new “bazooka” at the base of the engine cover. Significant updates (including on the car floor) have brought the SF-24 to be conceptually similar to the Red Bull RB20, adopting some concepts from the world champion car “leaked” by technicians who arrived in the winter from Milton Keynes.
“In Maranello, they hope to have made an important leap in quality to improve the SF-24’s performance in high-speed corners. […] The Red Bull influences of the technicians who arrived from Milton Keynes at the beginning of the winter, have inspired some concepts of the SF-24 Evo which has changed more than what meets the eye.”
These new features, once tested, will need to be optimized and made functional, also adapting the car’s setup to unleash about two or three tenths of a second per lap.
“In short, on the red car, it’s not just a change of skin, because the transformation is deeper. Imola will not be a track favorable to Ferrari on paper, and it is not certain that all the new features introduced will work immediately. […] Finding the right setup to make every element of the new package work immediately will not be an easy task at Imola. […] But it is undeniable that this Ferrari must be capable of a significant leap in quality, measurable in two or three tenths on the lap time…” – the Italian journalist concluded.
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