Motorsport editor in chief provides insight into Ferrari's 2024 car: "Simulator data is clear"

“We will change 95% of the components of the car. Stated like that, it may seem like a revolution. But it isn’t.” These are the words used during Ferrari’s Christmas lunch by the Scuderia’s team principal, Frédéric Vasseur, to discuss the 2024 car. After a challenging 2023 Formula One season, falling below expectations (except for a late-season surge), the car must bring the Maranello team back to compete with Red Bull, aiming for poles and victories at the very least.

The 2024 Formula 1 car, as learned in recent weeks, is in an advanced state of design and development, ahead of schedule thanks to the swift start of work by the technicians. Timely production of components, successful passage of FIA crash tests, assembly, and the fire-up of the car have become a matter of days. The power unit has been running on the engine department’s test bench for some time to refine hybrid maps and management, as well as reliability.

Moreover, the car is already running virtually on the simulator. According to leaked rumors from days ago, it has shown an improvement of approximately seven-tenths compared to the last evolution of the SF-23. These progress rumors, perhaps overly optimistic, as noted by Franco Nugnes in a recent article for “Motorsport.com,” may not allow Ferrari to compete for the championship but should bring them closer to Red Bull.

“The dominance of the reigning 2023 world champion team was staggering […]: it is easy to predict that the driver’s triple world championship will turn into a poker. Still, nowhere is it written that Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren cannot close the gap. […] In Maranello, they don’t talk about performance: no one dares to make a comparison between the 676 and the SF-23, although the wind tunnel and simulator data are clear, very clear.”

The Ferrari Racing Division is convinced they have executed the work on the 2024 car to the best of their ability, without exposing themselves on performance. This effort has effectively led technicians to achieve (though certification will only occur upon assembly) the goal of a car weighing below the minimum limit. Ballast can then be strategically placed, enhancing balance and performance.

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“From the Sport Management, however, indicative elements of a significant change emerge: the red 2024 […] seems to have reached a project target that Enrico Cardile’s team has sought persistently. The Ferrari 676 should go below the minimum weight limit for the first time since the ground-effect car regulations were introduced. It appears that the SF-23 started last season with about 6 kg more than the set 798 kg.”

This minimum weight limit will likely be reached by Red Bull as well, but in Maranello, meticulous work has been done in almost all areas of the car.

“Red Bull will also go below the limit and can move some ballast that was never seen on the RB19, but the slimming of the red car will be a key to the improvement: until the first car is assembled, it will be difficult to fix the actual weight, but the refining work done has been meticulous and has involved almost all aspects of the car. […] The sole intervention on weight should be worth more than a second and a half on lap time. The beneficial effect should not be limited to pure performance but also tire preservation.” – Motorsport expert Franco Nugnes concluded.