After an intense week of news regarding Scuderia Ferrari, including Charles Leclerc’s F1 contract extension, the new week begins with more updates from the Italian side.
The Maranello-based team has officially announced the name of the car that will hit the track in the 2024 Formula One championship. As expected, the car to be unveiled on February 13th will be called SF-24. The new Maranello car will immediately take to the track after the presentation for the shakedown and will return on February 14th for the filming day.
A name that follows Ferrari’s chosen path of continuity
As stated in the official announcement, Ferrari has opted for a path of continuity regarding the name of the new car: “The Scuderia Ferrari car for the next season will be called SF-24. The Maranello team has therefore chosen a name in line with recent tradition, which has characterized almost the entire hybrid era of Formula 1. It features the SF acronym, which, of course, stands for Scuderia Ferrari, followed by the year of the racing season. This formula debuted on the SF15-T in 2015, the second year of the Formula 1 hybrid era, and was abandoned only once in 2022 when the car celebrated the three-quarters of a century of the company with the name F1-75. The car will be presented on February 13th.”
The first kilometers on the track immediately after the presentation
The common thread of the red car’s early season is already laid out. Right after the presentation on February 13th, SF-24 will take its first steps in the 15-kilometer shakedown. The day after, on February 14th, the red car will then be the star of a 200-kilometer session on the Fiorano track for the filming day. This continuity is not only about the name, which we’ll likely see again next year, but also about the concept of the car. The year 2024 will lay a solid foundation for the 2025 season. Project 676, now officially named, aims to progress and provide a robust foundation for the next two seasons with a competitive car that allows engineers ample room for development—an aspect lacking in the previous two cars.
Charles Leclerc in action at Fiorano. Ferrari is thus arranging all the pieces in anticipation of the season’s start. Last week saw the renewal of Charles Leclerc’s contract. Although there were no doubts about the continuation of the partnership between the Monegasque driver and the Prancing Horse, this official confirmation can only be beneficial for a team that needs to start the season with well-established key points. The paddock is now waiting to know what the future holds for the other side of the garage.
Carlos Sainz had expressed the need to know his future before the start of the 2024 Formula 1 season. With just a few weeks remaining until the start of the season with the first free practices in Bahrain, the most plausible path remains the renewal between the parties. An alternative name would undoubtedly be a surprising move from the Maranello team, as confirmed by F1 journalist and motorsport expert Giuliano Duchessa for the Italian website formu1a.uno.
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