Written by Vyas Ponnuri
Scuderia Ferrari unveiled Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz's new ride for the 2024 Formula One season earlier today, an all-new car having very less in common with its predecessor — the SF23.
The Scuderia Ferrari SF24, named in continuation with the traditional Ferrari nomenclature style, has its similarities few and far with its predecessor, the SF23 — be it visually or mechanically.
Upon first sight, the car features dashes of yellow and white all along, with accents running along the sidepods, and featuring on the portion just above the front wing. In addition, the drivers' numbers are outlined in yellow, a distinct difference from the solid, white numbering on the car from last year.
The front and rear wings also have a shade of red running alongside the black on both parts of the car, a noticeable change from the SF23. The car features less inserts in black for this year, with traditional Ferrari scarlet finding more presence on the SF24, featuring on the monocoque and the halo.
The predominant colour scheme is also carried forward in the suits the drivers wear, with the yellow and white accents adorning Leclerc and Sainz's overalls.
This paint scheme pays tribute to the Le Mans-winning Ferrari 499P hypercar from the World Endurance Championship, the #51 car on the Italian team's roster having dethroned Toyota from the top spot, to win endurance racing's most prestigious event, only four rounds in their return to the series' top class.
Ferrari also sported a similar livery for their home race at Monza last year, with drivers sporting red, black, and yellow on their overalls, with yellow also finding its way onto the special one-off livery.
The new SF24 is said to be as much as '95% different' in comparison to the SF23, which proved to be peaky for most part of the season. The Italian team have attempted to dial this peakiness with their latest iteration, introducing newly-designed parts onto the SF24 for 2024.
The team have also introduced a new chassis for their 2024 machine, as they attempt to tackle this issue, and introduce a stronger baseline set-up for the SF24, as they attempt to curb one of their perennial issues — tyre wear.
The new car also features aspects from the championship-winning, dominant Red Bull RB19, as well as the AMR24, Aston Martin's challenger that took Fernando Alonso to eight rostrum finishes in 2023.
All in all, the refreshed design philosophy certainly reflects the mood and optimism down at Maranello, the team already buoyed by the signing of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, who is set to join the team in 2025.
Alongside, team principal Fred Vasseur has been setting departments right behind-the-scenes, with as many as 20 engineers set to join the team ahead of strong prospects in 2025. The Swiss veteran has plotted a plan called 'Operation Relaunch' as he looks to plot Ferrari's route back to the front of the Formula One grid. Signing Hamilton is just one part of this jigsaw puzzle for Vasseur.
The Ferrari team boss was excited, and aimed to start off on the front foot, from where the team left off at the end of last season:
“Presenting a new car to the world for the first time is always a very exciting moment for me and the drivers, even if we are all already thinking about the moment we will go head to head with our rivals on track.
“This year, we must start off where we left off at the end of last season, when we were consistent front runners, with a view to constantly improving in all areas.
He emphasised the need for his drivers to be more effective in race trim, and optimise their package in 2024, even counting on the loyal 'tifosi' fanbase to give them the 'extra gear':
“The longest ever Formula 1 season awaits us and Charles, Carlos and I all agree, we must be more clinical and effective in how we manage the races, making bold choices, in order to get the best possible result at every Grand Prix.
“It’s often said that your fans can give you an extra gear and that will definitely be true in what will be a very closely contested championship and we are proud to know we can count on our ‘tifosi’ from around the world.”
As optimistic as Vasseur is, however, do not expect the SF24 to change too much as the season progresses. The team have already put aside a large portion of their resources for their 2025 machine, aiming to introduce an extremely potent beast to kick off the Hamilton era at Ferrari.
With development for 2026 banned as of now, and the window opening during the 2025 season, Ferrari aims to deploy much of its resources onto its 2026 car, in an attempt to springboard into championship contention in the new era of Formula One's power unit regulations, much like they did in the early part of 2022's new ground-effect changes.
Nevertheless, Ferrari will be looking forward to a strong outing in 2024, and look to challenge the ever-conquering Red Bulls more often in the races, with both drivers having put in numerous stellar qualifying performances last season.
Managing tyre wear will be an important factor in Ferrari's season, whilst the strategy team will once again be under the scanner, having come a cropper for their indecision in the past. The drivers will also be expecting clarity in communication from their race engineers, having been impeded and let down several times in 2023.
Soon after the launch, featuring the usual cinematics of Ferrari's glorious past, before the unveil of the gorgeous new Ferrari SF24, the drivers got their first taste of the 2024 challenger, with Sainz and Leclerc taking the wheel at Ferrari's test track in Fiorano.
The car is also set to take part in an outing for filming, photographic and marketing purposes, before hitting the Bahrain International Circuit for pre-season testing from February 21st - 23rd.
Ferrari will most certainly be looking to take the fight to the incumbent Red Bulls, having been the only team to break Red Bull's winning streak in 2024, with Sainz triumphing in a four-way battle for victory around the Marina Bay Street Circuit, taking his second Formula One victory.
The team enjoyed a strong resurgence in the second half of 2024, winding up only three points behind second-placed Mercedes in 2023, having languished a distant fourth for most part of the season.
Leclerc and Sainz will be relishing to take the wheel of their latest challenger, as both drivers highlighted key areas of improvement for the team ahead of 2024.
Fresh off a new deal taking him long into Ferrari's future, the Monegasque expressed delight over the colour scheme on his new wheels for 2024, expecting it to be a step up from the peaky SF23 he endured for most of last season:
“I like the look of the car a lot, including the white and yellow parts on the bodywork. But of course, what really interests me is how it will perform on track, as that’s all that matters. The SF-24 ought to be less sensitive and easier to drive and for us drivers that’s what you need in order to do well.
"I expect the car to be a step forward in several areas and from the impression I formed in the simulator I think we’re where we want to be. This season the aim is to be front runners all the time and I want to give our fans plenty to cheer about, by dedicating race wins to them.”
While 2024 will be Sainz's final season with the prestigious Scuderia, the Spaniard expressed the desire for improvement in all areas of the team:
“For sure we are trying to improve all the areas. I think, if we really want to challenge for the world title this year, we need to improve in every single area of the car and that’s exactly what we’ve been trying to do all the winter, and the past season, to try and improve every single area - don’t leave anything without touching it or without trying to improve it.
"With that approach, and with this mindset, this car is wanting to improve in every single area."
The Spaniard also predicted a close fight with his rival teams in the upcoming season:
“My prediction is yes, it should be [closer]," he said. "When you look at the 2023 season, as the races were going by, the competition was getting tighter and tighter across the whole field. I remember a lot of Q1s, Q2s and Q3s where there was barely anything between a lot of teams.
"So moving forward to a year, I think everyone’s going to converge even more and the competition is going to be even tighter so that’s why every single detail, every single small advantage you can get and improve, it’s going to be key because the field is going to be extremely tight.”
The Spanish racer will be looking to give it everything in his last season wearing red, knowing his stock has skyrocketed ever since he was signed by the team from Maranello, with numerous teams on the grid expected to be seeking his services for 2025 and beyond.
All in all, Ferrari will be looking for a cleaner, stronger campaign in 2024, avoiding any reliability gremlins, and looking for the best strategies on the track, so as to help their dynamic duo show more of their brilliance, and emerge as Red Bull's closest contender — if not usurping the mighty force from Milton Keynes, in the upcoming season, Formula One's longest-ever campaign.