The dust in the desert race in Abu Dhabi has barely settled and the Formula One teams are beginning to plan the launch of their 2024 cars. Ferrari today confirm they will reveal their challenger for next season on February 14th and no doubt others will follow suit quickly.

With testing now reduced from twelve to just three days and the traditional venue for the pre-season shake down in Barcelona ditched, the teams will head to Bahrain with their shiny new prototype racing machines just a week before the first Grand Prix weekend which will be held Feb 29 – Mar 2nd.

 

 

 

Ramadan impacts start of F1 season

The traditional Friday-Sunday format has been ditched for the season opener and for the Saudi event a week later due to the Islamic tradition of Ramadan.

In 2024 Ramadan begins on March 10th which would have coincided with the race in Jeddah, so both Bahrain and the Saudi Arabian GP will be held on Saturdays avoiding the clash.

The starting grid for the first time in F1 history will see all 20 rivers who raced in Abu Dhabi ’23 back again with their respective teams yet there is still contract talks to be decided.

F1 teams in the modern era have tended to retain drivers longer than was historically the case and the front running competitors now prefer to have their medium term futures nailed down as early as possible.

Massa huge boost in overturning Hamilton 2008 title

 

 

 

F1 drivers getting longer contracts

Lewis Hamilton has been the exception to this rule and his career at Mercedes has seen him sign consecutive two year deals with the team, often leaving the finalisation of each re-engagement late in the year before his contract expires.

Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris are currently serving five year terms with their respective teams and rumours from the Italian media suggest the Monegasque has been offered a deal stretching another half decade.

The report suggested there would be a break clause in 2027 for Leclerc fail to be offered a car capable of winning him a world title.

Ferrari’s other driver has been vocal this year about how he wants his future to progress. Whilst Carlos Sainz is under contact with the Scuderia until the end of 2024 he has set a deadline for the team to  nail down his future beyond then.

FIA reacts to ex-presidents criticism

 

 

 

Sainz gives Ferrari a deadline

“My priority, and my main goal, is to win [a title] one day with Ferrari. And I think I’ve made that clear, very, very often. And that’s why I will give my priority to them this winter,” said Sainz Jnr earlier this year.

Yet the Spaniard who has 2 Grand Prix wins and eighteen podiums made it clear he wouldn’t be pushed around by his Italian team giving them a deadline before he begins the search for a new team

“If not, it will also be time to look elsewhere. But that’s my priority and what I want to sort out in the winter.”

La Gazzetta reported on Dec 4th that Leclerc’s shiny new five year deal would be announced “soon.” Meanwhile there was apparently a problem with Sainz new deal as the parties were at loggerheads over the exact term.

Mercedes struggles continue in plans for 2024

 

 

 

Ferrari eye up Norris

Offering Leclerc a five year deal and Carlos anything less would of course be a slap in the face for the winner of Ferrari’s only race in 2023. That said La Gazzetta believes Sainz would be content with a two year extension taking him to the end of 2026, but the team were offering only a one year extension.

The reason given why Ferrari were only prepared to agree a deal with Sainz to the end of 2025 was because the Italian team are apparently eying up Lando Norris whose current agreement with McLaren ends at that time.

Formula One teams usually don’t have both their drivers contracts ending the same year for obvious reasons as Martin Brundle observed when Mercedes announced new deals for Hamilton and Russell.

“[As well as Hamilton] The team have also announced George Russell is staying in the other car until the end of 2025,” he told Sky Sports. “[It’s] unusual to have both your drivers out of contract at the same time,” said Brundle.

Carnage at AlphaTauri as Franz Tost leaves

 

 

 

Same contract end dates ‘problematic’ says Brundle

Toto Wolff dismissed this as being problematic stating if both his drivers wanted to leave at the same time, then so be it. Presumably he believes Mercedes are a big enough pull to attract replacements of equal or higher calibre.

Yet the problem with this scenario as Ferrari have discovered, is that unless the team is prepared to let one driver go whilst offering the other a huge and lengthy new contract, there is an underlying message of ‘no confidence’ being issued by the team.

With both drivers out of contract and one getting a huge deal and there other a one year extension, its clear there is a preference being shown for say Leclerc, and this will play out on track.

Since the Gazzetta claims, Ferrari have failed to announce their driver contract extensions and it could be team boss Fred vaster has been forced to reconsider.

Verstappen lets slip Red Bull “silver bullet”

 

 

 

Ferrari boss confirms “talks”

Speaking to international media during a Christmas lunch at Fiorano, Vasseur revealed details of the ongoing conversations within the team.

“We have meetings and we have started conversations,” over both drivers’ futures Vasseur revealed. “But we have a lot of time compared to what Mercedes did, when they renewed their two drivers in August.”

Yet if Carlos Sainz is firm in his demands, time is not on Ferrari’s side given the Spaniard wants matters resolved this winter. Vasseur attempted to address the notion that Leclerc is favoured by the team over his Spanish team mate.

“We have two drivers and two cars and both scored more or less the same points during the year. And if I have the two right drivers for Ferrari for 2024, then I want to have them for 2025, 2026 and 2027,” he added.

Renualt SHOCKING lack of investment in Alpine revealed

 

 

 

Vasseur riddles unpacked

Whilst this may suggest Vasseur is considering a longer deal for Sainz, as always the devil will be in the detail. Further, who is to say whether the “right drivers” for Ferrari in 2024 will be the “right” pairing for 2025 and beyond?

Some will see Vassuer’s comments as an assurance for Carlos, when in fact they are the opposite. Having made such a claim, Sainz would be within his rights to call out his boss and demand a three year contract extension to the end of 2027.

After all if he is “right” for 2024, according to Vasseur, he will be “right” in 2027 too.

The again Ferrari may be hoping Sainz decides to move on in 2025 and by failing to offer him the three year contract extension implied by the team boss, the hint has been dropped that for Carlos Sainz its time to move on.

Whilst Vasseur admitted, “The aim is to renew them before next season, yes,” this will all hinge on whether the terms are palatable for Sainz or not.

READ MORE: Marko in trouble reveals “there will be talks next week”