After a disappointing weekend in China, Ferrari looks to the next few rounds of the year with great interest. The Miami GP will see the debut of a new title sponsor in HP, alongside a special livery for the team’s 70th anniversary in the United States. Round 7 in Imola has already been circled in the calendar by teams, drivers and fans for some time. The Italian circuit’s status as a home GP is not the only reason it is so essential for Ferrari this year.
SAINZ: “THE UPDATES ARRIVING AT IMOLA WOULD HAVE BEEN USEFUL IN CHINA”
Ferrari will bring their long-awaited package of updates to Imola. These should somewhat revolutionize the SF-24, to such an extend we have described the next iteration as a “2.0 version”.
These upgrades will be Ferrari’s response to what its main rivals have already done on the track. Red Bull brought upgrades in Japan, whilst McLaren has updates scheduled for the Miami GP.
The race in Florida, partly due to the circuit’s characteristics, will only see Ferrari make limited changes, as already done for the races in Melbourne and Suzuka. No large-scale alterations are expected.
Ferrari’s next upgrade package would have been helpful in Shanghai, as Carlos Sainz explained post-race:
“For tracks like this, the updates would have helped us a lot. For tracks like Australia, we are more or less okay.
“But it is also true that Red Bull brought an upgrade to Japan, and we can see how it goes on tracks of this type.
“We are waiting a little longer to see if something more interesting comes along, and when we bring it, we will see what it will give us back.”
MARA SANGIORGIO: “I HAVE SENSED A CERTAIN CONFIDENCE IN THE SF-24 UPGRADE PATH SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR”
Those who probe the mood at Ferrari have confirmed that Maranello is confident in the upcoming innovations.
We’re talking about Mara Sangiorgio, Sky Sport F1 correspondent who this week was a guest on our video podcast broadcast on Twitch. Speaking on the topic, Mara said:
“The team, in general, is confident about the updates. I have felt this confidence in the updates and their path during the season since the beginning of the year.
“They already seemed confident in the car and on that route that they set and studied during the year at the start of the season. This is the feeling I got.”
Last year’s precedent is also fueling Ferrari’s hopes. The updates brought after the summer break were a turning point for the team’s 2023 campaign. This helped the SF-23 take victory with Sainz in Singapore and set the foundation for their development path this year. Mara Sangiorgio also underlined this:
“Since they understood better or worse the path to take, from Holland onwards, in my opinion, they got on track and then showed it.
“The lowest point was Holland. They did their experiments, they understood which path they had to take, and from then on, they seemed linear and aware of what they were doing.”
