At a media event in Maranello team principal Frederic Vasseur said Ferrari would unveil the 2024 car, codenamed 676, one day before this year’s Valentine’s Day launch of the SF-23.
“The launch will take place on the 13th of February, the day before the Valentine’s Day,” Vasseur revealed. “You will see the rest [of the details, including the car’s name] on that day.
“Why? Because we will have one day more before the [Bahrain pre-season] test,” he quipped. “No, it’s quite tight, more seriously. We have the test a bit before [its 2023 slot] and it’s quite a challenge to put everything together.
“It means that we had no other option. I think also that some other teams are doing it on the 14th, but it’s quite challenging to be all ready for Bahrain.”
This year’s Fiorano launch came loaded with expectations that Ferrari’s SF-23 would right the wrongs of its initially competitive 2022 car and could mount a challenge for the world championship.
But that didn’t come to pass, as Red Bull swept up all but one of 2023’s 22 races, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz the only driver to keep it from a clean sweep in Singapore.
Photo by: Ferrari
Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal and General Manager, Scuderia Ferrari
Vasseur previously said that setting high expectations was a mistake it aims to avoid this time around.
The Frenchman therefore stopped short of making any promises about 2024 to the demanding tifosi when pressed by the Italian media.
“I don’t have to promise something,” he responded. “The best way is to be focused on what we are doing to deliver.
“The Christmas gift for them will be if we’re able to do a good job in March, not for Christmas. On Christmas the gift is just based on promises and I don’t want to make promises.
“We’ll see in March if it will be the Easter gift.”
Photo by: Ferrari
Ferrari’s Christmas Lunch atmosphere
Ferrari lost out to Mercedes by three points in the fight for second place after a disastrous start to the season. But while Vasseur accepted third is not good enough for Ferrari, he was encouraged by improving results in the second half of the season, which yielded Sainz’s win, five poles and five podiums.
“I’m quite proud of the reaction of the team during the season as a group,” he added. “We had a tough first six months until Monza, and the reaction was a good one.
“It means that as a group we work pretty well.”
Additional reporting by Roberto Chinchero and Franco Nugnes
