Among the races in the second half of the 2024 Formula 1 season, the Italian Grand Prix, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and the Singapore round were probably the ones that best suited Ferrari’s characteristics. The results from this trio of races saw the Maranello team achieve success on home soil in front of the Tifosi, perhaps where the SF-24 was the least fast compared to the street circuits of Baku and Marina Bay. The SF-24, revitalized by anti-bouncing developments, was the best car behind the now-confirmed McLaren MCL38.
However, in terms of results achieved, Ferrari was not able to fully exploit the potential the SF-24 demonstrated in the two Asian races. Important points for the constructors championship were thrown away, that are essential to challenge for second place, currently occupied by a struggling Red Bull, which is ready to roll out major aerodynamic updates in the next round of the season, the United States Grand Prix in Austin, with the goal of saving its Formula 1 campaign. The break period is also preparing Ferrari’s team ahead of the next two rounds in America, with the 5.513-kilometre Circuit of The Americas in Austin serving as the real test to definitively confirm progress in terms of bouncing and aerodynamic downforce.
In Singapore, the team led by Frederic Vasseur unveiled a new front wing specification ahead of schedule. A new design, more familiar to last year’s car, with the main goal of giving the red car more downforce. A better balance between the axes, especially useful on tracks where the red car can run with medium and high downforce setups. The new specification immediately brought good impressions and will be optimized in Austin with further data collection, as explained after the Singapore Grand Prix by the French manager, who pointed out that the Ferrari technicians and engineers have 4 weeks and will do their best to understand the weaknesses and work to improve for Austin. This is a step sought by the aerodynamics department working on the front wings to improve the SF-24’s compromise, especially since the red team changed the shapes of their car’s bodywork with the radical changes in Imola.
The wing was not created, of course, solely and exclusively to flex more. The issue of flexing has resurfaced following recent controversies surrounding the wings of the McLaren MCL38, based on onboard footage which surfaced on social media in the last few weeks. As mentioned previously, work has been done on composite materials to improve flexing, but the priorities for the SF-24 were to give more front-end grip to the car. A strong signal in this regard came from the behavior of the SF-24 in the Netherlands, which prompted Diego Tondi’s aerodynamics team to bring forward the new specification before Austin. An additional update will be made to the front wing to adapt it to low-downforce tracks, implementing a reduced-chord flap for the Las Vegas track.
It is worth pointing out that the new front wing has anticipated some aerodynamic philosophies of the 2025 Formula 1 car, as the wind tunnel is currently dedicated entirely to project 677 for next year.
The new wing Ferrari brought to Singapore was finalized at the end of July, before the wind tunnel was shut down for modernization work. This is a version that will effectively be carried over in terms of aerodynamic philosophy to the 2025 car. The 677 project, the last under these rules and regulations, will nonetheless mark a break from the past. New mechanics and adapted aerodynamics will be handled by Diego Tondi, who will manage the aerodynamics department under the supervision of Loic Serra, operational from October 1. The former Mercedes engineer will therefore have decision-making power over development timelines and strategies. At the front, there will be a switch to a pull-rod suspension scheme, and inevitably, there will be further refinement in the design of the elements for managing airflow around the revamped car body.
The months from June onwards are always the most critical for Formula 1 teams. Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur must divide the work on two fronts, distributing resources between the present and the near future. After the race at the Marina Bay street circuit, the French manager confirmed that the Italian side is already working on the 2025 car, but at the same time pointed out that the Ferrari engineers are doing their best to bring something to the SF-24.
Ferrari, with the reopening of the wind tunnel after the upgrades, is dedicating its aerodynamic work fully to next year’s car, with the wind tunnel only being used marginally on the SF-24, and only if it is decided to implement any components that showed interesting results in Computational Fluid Dynamics. Added to this is the work of the engine department, directly focused on the radical changes for 2026, where those who are better prepared early on will have a long-term advantage, as explained by F1 expert Rosario Giuliana for formu1a.uno.
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