SF-24: Italian journalist confirms Ferrari has optimized tyre performance and minimized wear. Italian journalist Roberto Chinchero confirms Ferrari has optimized tyre performance with SF-24 car.

From the first day of 2024 Formula 1 pre-season testing at the 5.412 km Bahrain International Circuit located in Sakhir, it seemed like the upcoming Formula 1 championship was already decided, dictated by Red Bull’s sky-high lap times. Certainly, Christian Horner’s team remains ahead, but yesterday Scuderia Ferrari had its say: in the morning session, Charles Leclerc set the fastest time in Bahrain, despite the infamous curb that prematurely halted the session. In the afternoon, Carlos Sainz, on the other hand, maintained a fantastic race pace, consistently lapping around the 1:37.00 average, an encouraging sign for the Maranello team, especially after the problems encountered last season in terms of race pace and tyre wear.

It is still early, very early to draw any clear conclusions, but Italian journalist Roberto Chinchero almost ventured to comment on Carlos Sainz’s performance on Thursday:

“What is certain is that the chronic and feared tire degradation problem has improved. Clearly, this is a good long run. After Max Verstappen’s great times yesterday, Ferrari said it was doing a different job than the other teams and would reserve the first judgments for this morning. And so it was. The day was positive, but we need buckets of water on the fans’ passion fire. We should expect Red Bull to respond tomorrow. In any case, it seems that in Maranello, they are heading in the right direction for tire management,” confirmed the journalist in an interview for Sky Sport.

“This has been an exceptional simulation run for Ferrari. Comparisons with Red Bull cannot be made, and it doesn’t matter where the others were today. However, the numbers seen indicate an improvement,” added his colleague Matteo Bobbi.

Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!