Ferrari SF-24: why upgrades are not only development front to continue chasing Red Bull RB20. Why Ferrari believe there is more potential to extract from SF-24 car.

At the beginning of the 2024 Formula 1 championship, Scuderia Ferrari is rejuvenated, with two podium finishes in as many races and the undisputed status of the second force on the field. The SF-24 car is a project that stems from afar, built on the lessons learned from the problematic 2023 Formula 1 car. Red Bull and Max Verstappen continue to enjoy an advantage of between 4 and 6 tenths per lap in terms of race pace, a significant but not insurmountable gap. In the wind tunnel, the Maranello engineers have been working on the first SF-24 upgrades for weeks, but further progress could also come from better tuning of a car that the Italian side is still getting to know.

Building on 2023 Foundations

With the SF-24, Ferrari develops a new car concept, completing a conversion started during the previous season. The 2023 car was used for most part of the year as a platform for conducting rigorous and transparent testing to better understand ground effect physics and identify the origin of the issues faced, including instability, unpredictability and tire degradation. The drivability has been improved, prioritizing certain aerodynamic aspects over others, as recently confirmed by technical director Enrico Cardile. Last year, the Italian side did a great job understanding what drivability meant in terms of aerodynamic mapping.

The team adjusted simulation methodologies to reflect their discoveries. Porpoising is among the phenomena Ferrari can now understand and control, but it’s not the only one. Also improved is the protection of the underfloor from external turbulence, a quality appreciated for its reduced sensitivity to wind and regained stability in fast corners. Even more importantly, the new simulation techniques perfectly match the track data.

The correlation with simulations and the simulator, as well as with the wind tunnel, has been sufficiently good, and this, of course, is a positive aspect, as explained by Matteo Togninalli, head of track engineers, immediately after the pre-season testing session. The simulator work has also involved drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc from the beginning, allowing them to provide input for the new car more than was done with the 2023 Ferrari.

The New Concept

The SF-24 is different in both form and character compared to the 2023 Ferrari, whose narrow margins for development pushed the Maranello engineers to eventually take a new path. With the previous concept, Ferrari had reached the limit of what could be extracted, Enrico Cardile admitted a few weeks ago. To squeeze out further performance, essentially through underfloor aerodynamics, it was crucial to undergo a restructuring of the car’s architecture, following a direction that is now quite widespread on the grid.

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The new body shapes serve the different underfloor aerodynamics, ground clearances, and, in general, the way the 2024 Ferrari operates, aspects where the real revolution lies. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz report a car with a different character and balance compared to the 2022 F1-75, of which the SF-23 was a natural evolution. Improvements are primarily seen in cornering at high speeds and tire degradation management, as evidenced by Max Verstappen’s lag in pace in Bahrain, which, unlike the past, did not increase during stints.

Overall, the SF-24 single-seater is a more drivable car than its predecessor, a quality that also emerges from the ability for drivers to attack without suffering too much in terms of aerodynamic disturbance and tire overheating. This was also highlighted by Spanish driver Carlos Sainz at the end of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Carlos pointed out that he loves racing, overtaking, being aggressive, and attacking. With last year’s car, it was simply impossible for him to do so. As soon the SF-23 was in dirty air, if the drivers pushed a bit too much, they overheated the tires and the game was over. At the Sakhir, the Spaniard overtook George Russell’s Mercedes W15 on track, slowed by engine overheating, while in Jeddah, Charles Leclerc passed Lando Norris’ McLaren, albeit with some difficulty. Maneuvers that the 2023 Ferrari car would hardly have allowed.

Potential to Extract

With the SF-24, Scuderia Ferrari is closing in on Red Bull, with noticeable gains in race pace rather than in qualifying. However, the awareness of what has been achieved does not diminish the desire of the Prancing Horse to definitively close the gap from Max Verstappen’s RB20. In addition to brake issues, one of the limiting factors for the Italian side in Bahrain was understeer at low speeds, a situation opposite to that in Saudi Arabia, with Charles Leclerc occasionally struggling with oversteer.

It is difficult to determine at this point how much these are signs of aerodynamic imbalances in terms of balance and how much it was caused by a setup configuration that still has to be optimized. Indeed, while in Bahrain Ferrari missed a pole position within reach due to imperfect execution, including driving, tire rotation, and failure to seek the slipstream, in Jeddah, the Prancing Horse did not fully exploit the new tire, suffering both in qualifying and at the start of the race.

The impression is that there is still potential to be extracted at Maranello by working on setup to improve the car’s performance. A revolutionized car like the SF-24 needs time to be fully understood. Already in Saudi Arabia, Charles Leclerc’s comments suggest that with a different setup, the Prancing Horse could express something more. He explained that the Maranello team chose a very specific setup, but it gave him little confidence, especially in the first sector and at turn 2.

Upcoming Updates

Meanwhile, work is underway in Maranello to bring updates by the first third of the championship. Already at the SF-24 car launch, Italian aerodynamicist Enrico Cardile spoke of a new aerodynamic package that was already in development in the wind tunnel. These are updates that have been planned during the winter, which will likely follow the direction taken by Red Bull during the previous championship, with the flattening of the side air intakes and the streamlining of the sides to enhance the underfloor.

In the meantime, the car will continue to run on track and around the world. After the Chinese Grand Prix, the fifth race of the 2024 Formula 1 season, the Maranello team will have a complete mapping of the car, providing an overview of its behavior in a wide range of conditions. The data will help identify the most promising areas to focus on for future updates. The question at that point is how much Ferrari will be inclined to pursue a bodywork design inspired by the 2023 Red Bull, from which the world champions have also moved away, embarking on a new path deemed even more promising. The answer will determine the basis of the 2025 project, which is emerging in these months to be a direct evolution of the current car.