Scuderia Ferrari is the latest to pull its car, the SF-24, onto the launch grid for the 2024 Formula 1 season. This one’s going to be a fascinating one to watch, even aside from the burden of it being a Ferrari.
The Scuderia began last year with the SF-23 that was quick over a qualifying lap, proved by seven pole positions. But it was sensitive, capricious, and not the most reliable over a race distance, leaving the team third in the Constructor’s standings behind Mercedes last year — the Anglo German team not having won a race since 2022. A mid-season rework of the SF-23’s aero concept improved drivability enough to enable Carlos Sainz’s victory in Singapore, the only win by a non-Red Bull car that prevented Red Bull’s sweep of the season.
Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur earlier noted the team planned to change 95% of the SF-23. Technical Director Enrico Cardile said at the launch of this year’s car, “With the SF-24 we wanted to create a completely new platform, and in fact, every area of the car has been redesigned, even if our starting point was the development direction we adopted last year and which saw us take a leap forward in terms of competitiveness in the final part of the season.”
So this could go any way.
The Italians are another team subtly working into their livery colors that refer to other teams and triumphs. The Rosso Corsa main color is accented with white and yellow stripes taken to be a nod to the Ferrari 499P that won Le Mans last year after 50 years out of the top class. More substantial revisions include new extensions on the underside of the sidepod intakes, a smaller engine cover fin, a new rake and profile to the “inwash bathtub” aero concept atop the sidepods, and redesigned vertical vanes beside the cockpit at the halo attachment points.
Aiming to address engine issues before race day, power unit boss Enrico Gualtieri explained, “[We] have reviewed all the processes related to the engine — preparation, signing off, and management — in order to maximize performance,” and “we have worked very closely with our partners to further optimize procedures relating to reliability: for example, at the track, thanks to the regular monitoring of the fluids in the car, Shell is able to constantly check on the state of health of the power unit.”
