The sport’s most popular racing outfit has raised the curtains on its brand new challenger: the SF 24.
With news of seven-time world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton joining the camp from the onset of 2025 having served the perfect predecessor to this big development; the SF-24 launch was no small event and attracted within a short span of time tens of thousands of reactions on what looks to be cleary a visually-pleasing new season challenger.
On the occasion of the prestigious launch of the SF 24, team principal Fred Vasseur, who had originally replaced Mattia Binotto happened to share his enthusiasm, stating in no uncertain terms what he believes is a fine machine:
“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.”
The Frenchman also underlined the big essence of the forthcoming season as he shared: “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.”
The 2024 car that features unique red, yellow and white wheel rims undoubtedly is strong on aesthetic value.
However, the SF-24’s real challenge would be pushing Red Bull and actually contesting with the Milton Keynes-based constructor to pose a real shot at the FIA F1 2024 world championship.
What hasn’t changed but must
Certain facts at Ferrari still remain unchanged in all these years. Things have remain that way in over a decade and a half, which by no means, is a small fraction of time.
They last won the drivers’ crown all thanks to Kimi Raikkonen’s sensational 2007 drive. A year later, they’d take the Constructors’ title with Kimi and Massa driving what clearly wasn’t such a fast charger after all.
In such time, a lot changed around Ferrari; not at the team. Lewis Hamilton emerged as a serious force of motion. He would win the 2008 crown in just his second year in Formula 1.
Not long after, one saw the surprising but admirable rise of Jenson Button and his ballsy Brawn GP team.
Then came the Red Bull Renault-powered Sebastian Vettel years where the celebrated German, a self-confessed Schumacher fan, won four drivers’ titles on the bounce.
Eventually, Alonso was called up to race at Maranello and he didn’t disappoint; emerging desperately close to the nearly unstoppable Vettel. Ferrari waited and waited, but couldn’t step onto the top step of the podium despite giving it their everything.
Trying and excelling but all in vain
Then one saw a new dawn in the sport with the start of the Turbo-hybrid era, which Lewis Hamilton kickstarted by collecting yet another crown. This time, he was at Mercedes, not McLaren. He’d also be outpaced by a long term rival, Nico Rosberg who claimed the 2016 drivers’ title but Hamilton wasn’t going to remain quiet.
Ferrari, all this while, kept fighting and kept impressing, albeit in patches. They had a mega world champion in Sebastian Vettel on their side. And even Raikkonen was recalled. Moreover, they even got impressive wins at tracks like Australia, Malaysia, Monaco, Bahrain and even Brazil but didn’t get around the big winsome moments; the definitive moments that would tilt the course of the world title fight in their favour.
For once, Ferrari even had their name against what was then the fastest ever lap recorded in F1 history, when during the qualifying for the 2018 Italian Grand Prix, Kimi set a wild 1:19:119 aged 38 and broke the previous fastest lap set by Juan Pablo Montoya.
Monza went wild on that occasion. But Mercedes eventually prevailed.
That was that. The world titles still didn’t come about.
They had to witness the sight of Mercedes taking the top honours and in spectacular fashion; and that too, not once, but on several occasions, circa 2014-2020.
Then, Kimi departed and in came Leclerc to pair alongside Vettel. He’d remind one and all about his special talent by first taking a belter of a pole at Bahrain (2019) and then claim mega race wins at Spa and Monza.
But soon that pairing changed as well with Sainz incoming to support Leclerc. The Spaniard, though not blazingly fast, beat Charles in his maiden year at the Scuderia (2021).
And last year, he’d cement his place at Ferrari by emerging as the only non-Red Bull driver to claim a race win in a year where every race victory belonged to Red Bull, barring Ferrari’s Singapore triumph.
A new dawn in 2024!
What is to be done is to be done with some might and renewed focus. Despite delivering its drivers belter of a fast car, particularly in 2022, Ferrari have wronged themselves in the strategy department.
Often, as seen at Monaco in 2022, which wasn’t just a one off incident, they’ve made the wrong strategic calls pertaining to the timing of their drivers’ pit stops.
But last year, despite seeing much like the other Constructors the Red Bull rampage, they had Leclerc in brilliant qualifying form. He’d take four poles, including one at the first ever Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Furthermore, Ferrari were anything but terrible as the final points tally suggested.
They scored 406 points and stood third on the Constructors’ just 3 points behind Mercedes. In so doing, they reminded one and all that while they may not have been the best in the business, the Ferrari power was still dominant enough to feature in the sport’s top three out there.
2023 wasn’t terrible
Their drivers stood fifth and seventh. Leclerc beat Norris and Sainz, while the Spaniard emerged ahead of drivers that were paired with a troika of strongly performing cars in George Russell (Mercedes), Oscar Piastri (McLaren) and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin).
But with no passion lost for racing and having Leclerc commit to a longer future, they have some of their issues solved.
Sainz, they’d hope, would want to end his final year at the Scuderia on a high and leave with something really memorable. The two teammates are expected to push one other closer than ever.
With enough rest behind them and a renewed vigour to fire up Formula 1 racing in 2024, one hopes that the standard line on the fans’ lips would be nothing else but- Forza Ferrari.