Ferrari plays at home for the sixteenth round of the 2024 F1 season. However, this doesn’t mean they can enjoy the favor of predictions. The favorites remain McLaren, followed closely by Red Bull. Not to forget Mercedes, which, despite struggling in the Netherlands, is ready to change course for the Italian Grand Prix. Ferrari has a clear goal: to win in front of its own fans. The task is challenging, but the Maranello team will try anyway. To do so, the team has made an extra effort by bringing forward an update. We’re referring to the floor expected for Baku.
This major component has undergone several modifications. Under the floor, in the floor edge area, and in the air positioned in front of the rear wheels. The diffuser also shows changes in design, a real reshaping. The move aims to increase the generated downforce while stabilizing the production of vertical thrust in every speed range. In short, eliminating the tedious porpoising effect, the aerodynamic bouncing that has significantly limited the SF-24’s protection in recent championship rounds.
The rest is a low-downforce package. Front and rear wings offer a downforce lower than the optimal level. In this case, the move is clear: aim for top speeds to optimize the lap. It remains to be seen whether the downforce generated by the Italian F1 car will be sufficient to manage the tires well during the race, an important factor also considering the resurfacing of the track. Ferrari has studied the new reference plan extensively through the simulator to be prepared for the first free practice sessions.
Now let’s take a detailed look at how things unfolded for Ferrari in FP1 at Monza:
The atmosphere at Monza is electric. Fans can’t wait to see their favorites in action. Inside the Ferrari garage, everything seems ready to hit the track. After the usual checks on the cars, power unit, transmission, braking system, and hybrid system, the “two Carlos” get on board the SF-24s. The weather is optimal, and they’re just waiting for the green light. These are the weather conditions at the moment: 33.5°C air temperature, 51.3°C track temperature. Humidity at 38%, wind speed 1.4 km/h blowing from the south.
The two Ferraris leave the Italian pit lane. Both are on a set of yellow-banded Pirelli tires. During the outlap, Charles reports that the brakes are quite hot. For this, Bozzi suggests cooling them down. Furthermore, he asks him to perform a couple of tests at constant speed (Engine 10 in 4th gear, Engine 11 in 7th gear) with the DRS closed to test the new floor and low-downforce package. Then they switch to normal mode on the internal combustion engine (Engine 5). When everything seemed ready to attempt the first flying lap, however, a sensor problem arises.
The Monegasque driver is first called back to the pits but then, with a counterorder, remains on track. The problem seems resolved. Meanwhile, Sainz has made a couple of push attempts without using the DRS. At the moment, the car shows a fairly good balance. We await more intense laps to know more. The brake issue lingers on the radio. Temperatures are quite high, and therefore, the braking system must be kept under control with the heavy braking at the Monza track. A few minutes later, a red flag is issued by the race direction.
Antonelli loses the car at the Parabolica and crashes into the barriers. This mistake was unfortunate for the young Italian driver, who misses out on an important session. Kimi apologizes on the radio. Toto Wolff doesn’t see it as a problem and tries to reassure him. Ten minutes later, the session resumes. The two SF-24s return to the track, still on yellow-banded Pirellis. Outlap, and then they start pushing without any issues. As the pace increases, some handling problems become apparent on the Ferrari.
We’re talking about Charles’s car, which at the first Lesmo has to correct the trajectory and lift off to avoid going wide. The Ferrari driver states that the SF-24 is not easy to drive, and his race engineer Bryan Bozzi agrees. Not a good sign for Ferrari, considering the new floor. Carlos Sainz optimizes performance with the medium tires, while Charles struggles much more.
The Spaniard returns to the pits, while his teammate stays on track and continues to test the car for another lap before heading to the pit lane. For now, we can say that the setup of the two Ferraris seems slightly oversteering, especially at the second chicane. Very good top speed in T1, while the speed trap still needs improvement to compete with the McLaren MCL38. The session proceeds smoothly. The work program shifts to simulating a flying lap on Softs.
The extra grip offered by the red-banded Pirellis is noticeable, especially in the middle sector, where holding the line seems significantly easier. It’s a pity for Carlos Sainz, who makes a mistake at the Parabolica and is forced to lift off. The handling seems fairly clean for now. Perhaps the only corner still needing adjustment is Lesmo 2, where both Ferraris show a bit too much understeer. This is an aspect that can undoubtedly be addressed with car balance.
A pit lane pass during cool down, and then the two Ferraris start pushing again. Charles puts together a clean attempt and tops the timing sheets. It’s interesting to note that although the Monegasque set the fastest lap, the number 16 didn’t set any best sector times, a sign that the Ferrari works well overall. Carlos makes another mistake, and with this set of Softs compared to the Mediums, he just can’t maximize the performance.
The last part of the session is dedicated to a mini long-run session. Charles is the first to go out and mounts a set of Medium tires. A few minutes later, it’s Carlos’s turn, who takes to the Monza track with the same configuration. With a high fuel load, the cars from Maranello seem to handle well in terms of drivability. It’s too early to judge this aspect. However, we can say that Ferrari has started the weekend in the right way. There’s still potential to be extracted through fine-tuning in Fp2.
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