What a beautiful Ferrari we have seen lately. A Formula 1 team that has slowly and progressively emerged from its technical impasse, getting back on top, as Flavio Briatore would say. Three wins in the last five races have certainly not come by chance, and it could have been four if not for a misjudgment at the Baku City Circuit in Azerbaijan. And maybe even five if the Maranello team would have better assessed tire activation during qualifying at the Singapore Grand Prix. In short, a Ferrari on the offensive. The goal for this third and final round of the triple-header remains the same.
Ferrari is aiming for victory in the Brazilian Grand Prix, with a strong desire to keep the dream of the Constructors’ Championship alive. A rather wasteful McLaren could still help, as the team led by Andrea Stella is also focused on the drivers’ championship battle with Lando Norris, while Oscar Piastri, the Australian, has seemed almost like a shadow of himself since the Baku weekend. Repeating success in Formula 1 is never easy, especially with very determined rivals. However, the historic Italian team is showing great determination, and the fear of winning seems to have left the team. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are giving their all and raising the Italian colors worldwide, as technical awareness of its capabilities drives the SF-24 to new heights.
The 4.309-kilometre Interlagos circuit, officially known as Autódromo José Carlos Pace, is a historic and highly technical track for Formula 1. It unfolds in a mix of long straights with technical sectors, particularly the second one, where tight turns and chicanes demand a high level of driving precision. Interlagos is also famous for its unpredictable weather, often forcing teams to adapt the setup of the car. For Ferrari, currently in a very positive period, this event represents another chance to put the SF-24 to the test on a track that rewards both top speed and traction in the more slow sections.
The Prancing Horse arrives in Brazil with a strong, well-balanced aerodynamic package, thanks to an operating window wide enough to adapt to different layouts on this 2024 Formula 1 calendar. After recent races, the Maranello team seems able to find a good balance on each track, minimizing the weaknesses of its car while fully exploiting its strengths. This means that, unlike in other Formula 1 seasons, tracks with different characteristics no longer represent an insurmountable obstacle.
For this reason, Ferrari’s confidence in its capabilities is very high at the moment. Last year, the team chose a setup that favored top speed, in order to gain time in the faster sections, especially on the main straight and the section leading to turns 4 and 5. This year, following last season’s trend, the red car will aim to optimize top speed, as it did in Mexico, where between Friday and Saturday they reduced aerodynamic load from the Monaco specification, moving to a medium-high setup first seen at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.
For the Brazilian Grand Prix, it is expected that the Italian team will opt for an approach similar to last Sunday’s, focusing on a more versatile specification suitable for mixed circuits. In 2023, it is worth recalling that Ferrari struggled in slow corners, particularly at the first chicane, at turns 4 and 5, due to an endemic lack of vertical load. Lowering the ride heights had yielded good results in terms of qualifying performance, but this choice ultimately compromised overall performance over the 300-kilometer race distance. This year, however, the SF-24 car has shown better balance at low speeds, as well as agility on the curbs, which are also less pronounced in Interlagos than in Mexico.
At the same time, Ferrari has to focus on the optimal tire management during the race. The Maranello team’s technicians and engineers have worked to build a compromise favoring the slower sections, even if this means sacrificing some performance in high downforce corners, like turn 12, where in 2023 the Ferrari lost almost a tenth and a half, which it then recovered with speed in the high-speed section leading to the finish line. In fast corners, the SF-24 will seek a compromise with suspension stiffness. The aim is to manage aerodynamic load for the race, where average speeds in fast sections decrease along with the required downforce.
In qualifying, the Italian F1 team relies on the driver’s sensitivity to manage the car’s rear, prioritizing top speed. This choice aims to create a car effective over long runs and suited to tire preservation during the race. Interlagos is particularly demanding on tire compounds, characterized by high degradation, a situation that in 2023 forced drivers to manage the compounds throughout the race and significantly limit performance. This year, Ferrari aims to avoid such problematic management.
This will also be achieved with better control over surface and carcass temperature. The SF-24 has shown improvement in this area, combined with a setup designed to keep the tires in an optimal temperature window and avoid compromising race pace as last year. In the second sector, various sections place stress on the rear axle in traction, where micro-slips must be avoided to ease tire management. Ferrari starts off the Sao Paulo weekend confident, convinced that it can fight for victory in Brazil.
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