The Ferrari SF-24 is not revolutionary
A video of just over 100 seconds in which Founder Enzo Ferrari recalls that “the most important success is the one I have yet to achieve,” and then a few laps at Fiorano with Carlos Sainz opening the dance, a nice gesture since it will be the Spaniard to bid farewell at the end of the 2024 Formula One season to make way for Lewis Hamilton. Compared to 2023, when CEO Benedetto Vigna made bold statements and Fiorano also hosted several fans in a grand presentation, Scuderia Ferrari has decided to keep a low profile, a modest launch in the belief that this time the track will speak for itself.
Commendable, as always, is the overwhelming affection of the fans who brought the huge ‘red heart’ of Ferrari in front of the Scuderia, crowding then on the ‘Bridge of Sighs’ overlooking the Fiorano circuit to not miss the first kilometers of the SF-24. Which, despite being redesigned by 95%, is not a revolutionary car. “There is, at first glance, a shorter nose, a revision of the sidepods, a non-marginal intervention on the suspensions. It’s not a copy of Red Bull, it couldn’t be: the goal, banal, is to escape the deadly syndrome of the transition year,” writes Italian journalist Leo Turrini in today’s edition of the Italian newspaper based in Bologna Il Resto del Carlino:
“It takes lion-hearted courage to imagine that the SF24 can quickly interrupt Red Bull’s dictatorship. On the other hand, I believe I know that John Elkann, the president of the Prancing Horse, is keen to create conditions that allow Ferrari to return to competitiveness immediately, to then be attractive and seductive for top drivers and differentiating engineers.” – he added.
“The main differences compared to last year’s car concern the rear, in the name of aerodynamic development and to manage flows in the most profitable way,” reads the columns of Repubblica in the article by Paolo Rossi, emphasizing how 2024 is the first real year in which Fred Vasseur‘s work can be evaluated. “It’s his car, the SF-24. Fred Vasseur has put his face on it, revolutionized the organizational structure. Surely he knows how to produce a shockwave (the Hamilton operation), and he accepts the consequences.”
Charles Leclerc a year ago had not felt good sensations from the first laps at Fiorano; yesterday went better. Ferrari must start on the right foot immediately, also to convince the already mentioned high-profile technicians perhaps tempted to join the Maranello cause but not yet decided to pack their bags: “In the predictions, Ferrari starts as the second force behind Red Bull, but ahead of Mercedes, forced to keep a figure as cumbersome as Hamilton separate, and ahead of a still young McLaren. The first verdicts are expected in the tests and at the first Grand Prix. According to Charles Leclerc, we will have to wait at least three races. It will be. In 2023, one lap was enough to ruin the festive atmosphere. Ferrari can no longer afford an uphill season,” concludes the article in La Stampa written by journalist Stefano Mancini.
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