PREVIEW

Scuderia Ferrari have unveiled their Ferrari SF-24 car for the 2024 Formula 1 season.
The sport’s oldest and most storied team launched the vehicle in front of a small audience of guests on Tuesday in an event shared online.
The new car is a very special one for Ferrari as It is the 70th car the company has built to take part in the Formula 1 World Championship.
Attending the presentation at the Fiorano track were President John Elkann, CEO Benedetto Vigna and Vice-President Piero Ferrari, along with representatives of the partners, as well as team members, starting with Team Principal Fred Vasseur and this year’s drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
The SF-24 is built for the busiest season ever, with no fewer than 24 races. The car also holds a certain sporting significance as the team, who have not won a Drivers’ World Championship since 2007 and a Constructors’ title since 2008, look to rise up the field ahead of superstar signing Lewis Hamilton’s move to the team in 2025.
The F1 season gets underway next week in Bahrain with the only pre-season three-day test session, followed by the first grand prix at the same venue, on Saturday 2 March.
The SF-24 is the third car of the new Formula 1 ground effect generation, but unlike some teams’ minor tweaks to their cars, it breaks with the tradition of the past two years, starting with its look.
Vasseur, says: “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.”
The design group, led by Enrico Cardile, aimed to give Charles and Carlos a car that is easy to drive and that reacts predictably, with as a starting point, the positive feeling the drivers had in the cockpit over the final few races of last season. The goal is to allow them to make the most of the power unit’s potential, combined with their undoubted skill behind the wheel.
At first glance, the car is aesthetically very different to its predecessors with white and yellow joining Ferrari’s traditional red on the livery. It is the first time yellow longitudinal stripes have been seen on the Italian team’s car since 1968. Black on the car is now restricted to the floor, the bargeboards, part of the halo, and other small areas. The wheels are red with a double white and yellow stripe, these colours also featuring on the race numbers – 16 and 55 – which continue to use the Maranello marque’s official font, Ferrari Sans, this time in italics.
Leclerc reveals: “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.”
The star went on to say that he hopes the car will be among the “front runners” challenging runaway 2023 champions Red Bull.
Sainz, who will make way for Hamilton next year, adds: “When I saw the SF-24 for the first time, I couldn’t wait to jump in and fire it up. Now, I’m looking forward to driving it on track to see if it correlates with the feeling I had from the simulator, which is that it’s the step forward we all want.”
So, with fewer than three weeks to go until the green lights signal go, Ferrari are revving up and raring to go in 2024.