The shakedown of the Ferrari SF-24 in the 200 km filming day in Fiorano, still underway, did not disappoint expectations. On its home track, confirming the rumours we had managed to gather, Ferrari tested the new aerodynamic package, which will make its debut next week in Imola. The 200 km travelled by the new Ferrari, driven in the morning by Charles Leclerc and in the afternoon by Carlos Sainz (100 km each), allowed us to observe the important innovations that, according to Leclerc, will indicate the objectives for the rest of the season.
Ferrari’s entire package was brought to the track at Fiorano, according to what has been gathered. As such, all the innovations that we will be on the SF-24 next week are present. These are upgrades the technicians in Maranello have been working on since March with a certain optimism.
ENRICO CARDILE’S TECHNICAL BREAKTHROUGH IS IMPLEMENTED TO SKIP INTERMEDIATE DEVELOPMENT STEPS
The Maranello team’s change of skin has much deeper roots than it might seem. The technical group led by Enrico Cardile, in fact, knows that if it wants to reach Red Bull by 2025, it must build development paths that maximise performance. Ferrari’s new sidepod entrance, revised in the version with shark mouths, is a clear step in this direction.
Formu1a.uno has previously reported that Ferrari has not set aside the concept carried forward by Red Bull and McLaren. The Italian team decided during construction to skip an intermediate step. That is, to discard last year’s trend and move directly to the 2024 shark mouths of Pierre Waché’s car.
This was not just motivated by budgetary restrictions. Ferrari acknowledges that if you want to reach Red Bull, you have to dare. The technical strength shown by the 676 project, which we spoke about extensively over the winter, is already clear. The team’s victory in Australia cemented their progress with their 2024 challenger.
However, the difficult part certainly comes now. The development war will only intensify in the remainder of 2024.
Ferrari’s Imola upgrade package will have the task of trying to bring the SF-24 closer to Red Bull. The Italian team looks to respond after two race weekends where Mclaren performed stronger overall than the SF-24.
NOT JUST SHARK MOUTHS: THE SF-24 ABANDONS THE SIDEPOD BY-PASS SYSTEM
The Ferrari 2.0 features crucial changes to the floor and sidepods. Even if the restyling of the cooling inlets did not lead to a relocation of the radiators, the sidepods have been altered. In the first six rounds of 2024, only 5% of the components on last year’s car were present on the SF-24. Among the areas of continuity was the S-Duct solution, i.e. the internal duct. This component was designed to bring air from the floor of the undercut to the upper wall of the sidepods.
However, from what we’ve gathered, the updated SF-24 has permanently ditched the S-Duct system present on the 2023 car.
The exit vent, implemented around the cockpit fins in the SF-24 Launch Spec, has been effectively removed. The only exit vent on the SF-24’s hood is no longer connected to the vertical inlet in front of the sidepods. Ferrari now has an altogether new concept to make cooling and aerodynamics work synergistically. The vertical inlet, which is now directly joined to the shark mouths, forms a sort of “P” inlet in Alpine and also Mercedes style. Therefore, it has the exclusive function of cooling and internal blowing.
On these new generation cars, internal aerodynamics is something even more fundamental to reach the right efficiency targets and drag reduction. On this, Red Bull had an important advantage, at least until the middle of last season. Returning to Ferrari, and in conclusion, the abandonment of the by-pass system is a sign that Ferrari has definitively started a different path of development, especially compared to the Reds of the previous two years.
