Frederic Vasseur, the boss of Ferrari, has indicated that their plans for the 2024 Formula One car are currently in the stage of “philosophical concepts,” although they are pushing the boundaries of what they can achieve in the simulator.
As Formula 1 enters the summer break, even though the season is only halfway through in terms of races, teams are already looking ahead to the upcoming season.
Some teams are pausing their upgrade efforts to channel all resources into the development of their 2024 cars. Apart from the pre-approved upgrade packages, Scuderia Ferrari is also following this strategy.
Fred Vasseur discussed the Maranello team’s approach regarding the successor to the SF-23 single-seater, revealing that development on the current car ceased before the summer break.
While there are still scheduled upgrades for the current championship that have been approved, he emphasized that the majority of focus will now shift towards the next season, even though the design of the car is still in its early stages.
“For this season we stopped development in the wind tunnel at the end of July, but we have pieces already approved and in the works that we will take to Qatar or Austin,” Fred Vasseur explained when asked about this matter in an interview for the Italian daily newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport a few days ago.
“For the single-seater for 2024, we are still at the philosophical concepts [stage]. The numbers say that you have to be aggressive in the project but with simulations and equations we are already at the maximum.We have to think differently, find margins thanks to which the riders can ride without always being at the limit. And in any case, the deadline for the new red is not the end of the year.We have to be ready for Bahrain in March. We still have many months ahead of us.” – the French manager pointed out.
In the Constructors’ Championship standings, Scuderia Ferrari occupies the fourth position ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, a situation which falls short of their usual standards due to a performance that didn’t meet expectations this season. Charles Leclerc has secured three podium finishes for the team during the first part of the 2023 Formula One championship.
Despite achieving a couple of pole positions, the team’s principal highlighted that their true struggle lies in race conditions. The Scuderia has faced challenges, particularly when compared to competitors like Red Bull, who have remarkably claimed victory in all 12 races of the first half of the year.
“If you analyse the data, in qualifying we are 0.2% behind Red Bull, sometimes 0.4% but on some occasions we did better than them. The delta in the GP is instead much greater, so all the difference manifests itself on the race pace. As happens with the others, just look at the Mercedes.” – the Ferrari boss added.
“A logical explanation is that the Ferrari is difficult to drive: on a single lap you can take risks and keep it to the limit, in racing it is not possible and performance drops. It is an aerodynamic matter. 2022 we were fine, we tried to do even better in the winter but the fact is underestimated that taking something to the extreme sometimes complicates life for the driver: the car when it moves it becomes unpredictable, its load is inconsistent.” – the French manager concluded.
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