Fred Vasseur reveals Ferrari’s plans for significant changes to their 2024 package – in a bid to address last year’s weaknesses. The Maranello-based team is entering a crucial phase of F1’s current generation of cars.
Last year was both frustrating and encouraging for Ferrari, who showed meaningful progress amidst difficulties.
The Bahrain GP showed the SF-23 was certainly competitive, but reliability struck and threw away a strong result. As the year progressed, it became clear that more fundamental changes were necessary.
Perhaps the Spanish GP proved this most definitively, where the performance between Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc was night and day.
For Ferrari, last year’s development plan was not necessarily focused on pure lap time. Instead, the priority for Vasseur’s personnel was to fix the car’s limiting factors and make it more drivable.
This was especially relevant for Leclerc, who struggled to find his best form early in the season. Following the SF-23-s Japan updates, there was a notable step forward.
Ferrari’s 2024 car, which will be unveiled in February, will include more large-scale changes that couldn’t arrive last year. Ideally, the team aim for these changes to put them in closer proximity to Red Bull.
Ferrari teammates Carlos Sainz, of Spain, left, and Charles Leclerc, of Monaco, congratulate each other after racing in the pole position during the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix auto race at the Hermanos Rodriguez racetrack in Mexico City, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Fred Vasseur insists that substantial alterations can be expected, but they will build upon last season’s package:
“I don’t know if revolution is the right word. We have the same regulations now, three years in a row, that you can’t change massively,” he told racingnews365.
“It’s a matter of tenths of a second.
“For sure, we have to do a step on that; we don’t underestimate the step.
“We are changing 95% of components. Perhaps you consider that it’s a revolution – I don’t know if it will be.”
As ever, promises of performance mean little over the winter. This is why Vasseur’s relatively cautious comments are to be expected – there is little to gain from creating high expectations over winter.
Still, there is undoubtedly pressure on Ferrari this year. If they cannot compete with Red Bull this year, their prospects of fighting for a World title in 2025 are also very dim.
With more teams than ever vying for regular podium finishes, the Italian outfit cannot afford another winter of missed targets. Lessons must be learned.
Author: Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
