
The twelfth Formula 1 weekend of the 2024 championship finds Ferrari arriving highly motivated at the 5.891-kilometre Silverstone circuit. The objective remains the same: to enhance the learning process regarding recent updates introduced by the Maranello technicians on the SF-24 car. For many, this continues to be an excuse. The general opinion, the most widespread, is that the Maranello team made a mistake with the update and is hiding behind this as an excuse to not admit that the work done is insufficient. Many fans are clearly disappointed, and a tragic scenario appears in their minds. The 2024 Formula 1 season has gone down the drain because the Prancing Horse has lost its way.
Undoubtedly, the sentiment just described is understandable. After the splendid weekend on the streets of Monte Carlos, with Charles Leclerc winning the Monaco Grand Prix and Carlos Sainz completing a double podium finish, everything seemed to be going smoothly, while the subsequent Canadian event was written off as a “simple” difficult weekend where, for various reasons, almost nothing worked. Then came the immense effort to bring forward the updates and arrive at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona with the new version of the floor, streamlined sidepods, and the latest version of the medium-high downforce rear wing. The SF-24 number 55 took to the track with the new features, unlike the twin car.
In this context, it became clear that something was broken. The usual balance that Ferrari had accustomed us to was no longer there. Yes, because the usual “predictability” of the red car, that ability to hit the track and confirm the setup studied in the simulator, was absent on Charles Leclerc’s SF-24 car, which had no updates installed. For this reason, the Monegasque driver requested and obtained a drastic setup change in order to provide that usual stability that had suddenly disappeared, vanished without explanation.
What happened from that moment on is well known. We have extensively discussed it through our analyses, recounting in detail, as they say, the erratic behavior of the Italian F1 cars over the Spanish Grand Prix weekend. This behavior reappeared at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, where things certainly did not improve. Ferrari has lost the correct working point of the car and, for this reason, cannot make the SF-24 function as it should. The Ferrari engineers are therefore searching for a compromise that effectively does not exist, because the setup range, at least for the moment, seems very narrow.
The Silverstone circuit is a very complicated track. Observing its layout, one quickly understands that once again the word compromise will be part of the entire weekend for the Italian side. The good transition between slow and fast corners regulates competitiveness, a weak point of the updated SF-24. The data continues to confirm that the upgrades are substantial. Or rather, to be more precise, they indicate that the latest changes made to the cars are valid and effectively add a lot of downforce to the Italian cars. However, this downforce is not yet visible, as unlocking the potential has not yet been possible.
As we know, the two days at the simulator at the beginning of the week kept Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc very busy. Many hours were spent in the driver-in-the-loop to understand how to resolve the situation, to make the car work and finally get out of this technical impasse that is slowing down the Maranello team’s aspirations. For the British Grand Prix, Ferrari has chosen a medium downforce rear wing, the most popular version, the one the team knows best. A solution that falls below the estimated optimal load. They did this for a simple reason.
Drivers, technicians, and engineers are convinced they can extract those “famous” load points from the floor that have been lacking so far. An additional vertical push free from the downforce produced by the wings. All this considering that a stiffer suspension setup will favor handling in fast, loaded corners. So, there is a lot of confidence in the SF-24, because a plan to extract the unexpressed performance exists. The protagonists themselves confirmed this in the usual Thursday interviews. Therefore, there is a certain optimism approaching Silverstone.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Lewis from the track!
Our editorial team of the FUnoanalisitecnica Italian website has gathered the first information directly from the English track. We therefore know that Ferrari will carry out several tests this weekend in Silverstone. Tests scheduled alongside the study conducted through the powerful computers within the sports management. In Formula 1, the magic wand does not exist, we know that. However, it seems that a new path will be taken to resume the thread interrupted by the streets of the Principality. In these cases, it is about getting on track and grinding out kilometers, to verify how the performance of a setup that can enhance the technical product available.
The weather conditions, however, do not seem to agree with. In today first free practice sessions for the British Grand Prix, in fact, there is a possibility of rain. We are talking about an element that throws a wrench in the works, because testing the desired approach regarding the car’s setup with a wet track is what is commonly referred to as “a big mess.” But the Ferrari team is certainly not demoralized. For this reason, the aforementioned tests will still take place, although, logically, in this case, they will be affected by the non-optimal track and weather conditions.
Leave a Reply