McLaren have shown the way and now Ferrari want to follow suit, ideally at their home race in Imola: After the updates to the MCL38 helped Lando Norris to victory in Miami, the Scuderia is hoping to put an end to Red Bull’s dominance.
Compared to the competition in 2024, Ferrari have so far been noticeably reticent about new parts. The Italians are said to be planning three major upgrade packages over the course of the season, the first of which will be unveiled at Imola, and they are certainly not shying away from innovation, as evidenced by the first footage from the two days of filming that Ferrari completed on its own test track at Fiorano on Thursday and Friday.
For Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, a first test of the new parts was on the agenda over the permitted 200 kilometres: At the heart of the new Ferrari package is a change in philosophy for the side pods and engine cover, similar to the Red Bull concept.
However, it is not so much an outright copy as a long-term in-house development, with Ferrari having poached a number of engineers from the championship leader over the winter to contribute their expertise to Maranello’s latest direction of development – and their approach to increasing downforce without compromising aerodynamic efficiency, which appears to be supported by wind tunnel data.
On the SF-24, the Scuderia has moved from an “underbite” to an “overbite” on the air intakes of the side pods, as has already been successfully seen on the RB20 since the beginning of the season, to better channel the airflow in this area.
The inlets have also been significantly increased in size, and further changes have been made to the openings in the Ferrari’s outer skin at the rear, where the newly channeled air flows out again.
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Also noticeable are various new aerodynamic details, such as the rear-view mirrors, and new wing elements at cockpit level, which have already been dubbed ‘Cobra Wings’ in the design forums of Formula 1 enthusiasts due to their peculiar curved shape, and which divide the airflow in this area inwards and outwards.
At the rear, the side skirts on Ferrari’s first Evo package are also slightly more undercut. In conjunction with these changes, a new underfloor with an adapted Venturi channel and diffuser will also be used at Imola.
It is also clear that the sheer scale of the changes will have forced the engineers to restructure the elements inside the SF-24. Ferrari have already made visible changes to the rear wing, more specifically the end plates, to reduce drag. The front wing has also been redesigned to be more compatible with the new package.
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Imola chosen as the test bed venue
It is no surprise that Ferrari has chosen Imola to unveil its extensive update package: The F1 calendar recently featured two sprint weekends in Shanghai and Miami, with correspondingly little testing time in practice. At Imola the engineers will have a much better opportunity to evaluate the car.
Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur denies any accusations of sensationalism, telling Sky: “The development is not about us bringing something to Italy because it is in Italy: we push the development and when we are ready, we produce the parts, but the fact that Imola is close to the factory helps us bring something, simply because we can release the parts a little later.”
It’s clearly a case of logistics, not showmanship in front of the Tifosi – although Vasseur is hoping for a performance boost from the upgrade: “We can’t expect it to be a big game changer. But it’s so close that it can of course bring better performance,” says the Frenchman.
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However, success will not be determined by the updates alone, as he is quick to temper expectations: “It’s also about what we do with the drivers, with the set-up of the car or the tyre management. We can’t just think about upgrades and development, it’s also about the work we do on the track”.
Especially as Vasseur questions the serious impact of updates, despite McLaren’s success in Miami: “We know everyone has done a lot of updates, but we were still ahead of some cars,” he says, referring to Ferrari’s previous cautious approach to innovation: “We have reached a point in the development of the car where you gain tenths, not seconds, when you introduce something new.”
The Ferrari team boss believes: “This could have happened years ago. McLaren brought a huge package of updates at the weekend (in Miami), but the car was still not half a second faster than anyone else…”
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When it comes to the big picture, Vasseur is under no illusions: “Since the beginning of the season, it’s been a bit of a race on the circuit,” he says, referring to the narrow gaps between the chasers, “but I honestly believe that Red Bull is still ahead.”
According to the Ferrari boss, Verstappen would have won in Miami without the safety car, not McLaren’s Norris.
What makes Vasseur confident about Ferrari’s gap to Red Bull: “Compared to a year ago, we’re where we are now if we do a good job and everything fits together. That means we’ll put a bit of pressure on them, they’ll have to be more aggressive with their strategy and not be in the comfort zone as much as last year, when no matter what happened, they were back in front after two laps.”
That’s why Vasseur is hopeful about Ferrari’s latest changes to the car: “It’s an opportunity for us, because if we can make one more small step, then I think we’ll really be in a position to challenge them every weekend.”
Ideally at Imola, of course, in front of the euphoric Tifosi…
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