Is the Ferrari SF-24 living up to expectations and stakes at the start of this year?
At this point, it’s still far too early to tell. Charles Leclerc, even after two days of driving, does not have a clear idea about the pecking order.
At least, the Scuderia seems to be a more manageable car, less temperamental than last year, continues the Monegasque.
“It’s like every winter test… which means we understand nothing because it’s too early to say. We have no idea about the fuel levels used by everyone else.”
“In terms of drivability, the car is much better than last year. Last year, after the tests, it was hard to take a direction because we didn’t know what the car was doing. We would enter a corner and end up with extreme oversteer or understeer, which was a big problem.”
Significant progress is also expected on tire wear and long runs, Ferrari’s weakness last year.
“This year, the car isn’t like that, which is a better starting point. I think the drivability will help us on the long runs. I think for tire degradation as well, we should be in a good situation.”
“We are progressing well…”
“Once again, the car is doing what it should, which was not the case at the beginning of last year. I remember after the first few days, I was much more worried because it was a very, very complicated car to drive. This year, it’s easier, so it starts from a better base, but there’s still a lot of work to do. For now, everything is going as planned, which means we haven’t had any bad surprises regarding the car’s behavior.”
Another piece of good news: from the wind tunnel to the simulator and from the simulator to the track, there have been no bad surprises.
“The car behaves like in the simulator, so that’s a good sign.”
“Then, in terms of competitiveness, it’s too early to say. In itself, the fact that the car behaves exactly like in the simulator is good news. It allows us to develop the car in the virtual world of Maranello, and that’s a good thing.”
“We found all the answers yes, because in the end, we completed our driving program, which is a good thing. We made big changes to the car, that’s what we focused on these first two days. On Friday, we will refine the car and get into the details, but the first days have gone well so far.”
Charles Leclerc still sees Red Bull dominating…
However, Charles Leclerc remains clear-eyed: Red Bull continued to impress the competition, notably with Max Verstappen on the first day, and could again dominate the competition…
“My initial feeling is that Red Bull remains unfortunately quite far ahead, and yesterday they posted impressive lap times. But that’s just my feeling, I’m not looking at the data, because once again, the data doesn’t mean much for now.”
Like Leclerc, Cardile is reassuring
Can the technical director in charge of the chassis, Enrico Cardile, confirm Charles Leclerc’s views? This Ferrari may not be the fastest on the grid, but is it at least a very solid base?
“The car responds as we expected.”
“So far, in terms of driving sensations, everything matches our expectations. So, we are satisfied in this regard. It’s very hard to know where we stand compared to others based on timing, but as far as the drivers’ reactions go, everything is well aligned. We are happy that they didn’t have any bad surprises when taking the car to the track. It’s a good starting point.”
“Red Bull appears fast, yes.”
“Our ambition is obviously to be competitive at every race and to fight for victories, but we are working towards that.”
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