Ferrari schedule upgrades to accelerate upward trajectory

Charles Leclerc won in Monte Carlo and finally broke the spell. If it weren’t for the sentimental importance of this venue, it could be described as an easy victory. His Ferrari was unchallenged in the 76 laps after the restart – which saw hardly any stops. The closest challenger, Oscar Piastri, lost 10 points of aerodynamic load due to the contact with Sainz. Ultimately, this was irrelevant anyway, as the field lapped 3 seconds slower than it was capable of.

The pace management decided by Leclerc hid far greater potential. His SF-24 could have gone significantly faster. The Monegasque could only fight to preserve the hard compound to the point of boredom as insurance against unexpected events. Bryan Bozzi didn’t use diplomacy to convince him. Leclerc’s engineers didn’t even have minor fears about reliability – the decision to replace his power unit in FP3 was entirely a precaution.

The Ferrari was reassembled in the race and completed its job. Ferrari’s current power units have reached a life cycle of 8000 km. The slow pace of the race eliminated any potential risk.

IMPORTANT UPGRADES ON THE WAY

There is also optimism in the Ferrari camp heading into Montreal:

“Canada is almost the opposite of Monaco in terms of speed and downforce, but there are curbs, slow corners and chicanes. Some traits similar to Monaco. We did well in Melbourne, Imola, Miami and there were differences in terms of layout, compound, asphalt…

“It will be tight for everyone with differences of a tenth and a half,” revealed the Ferrari Team Principal.

Meanwhile, Ferrari’s Technical Director, Enrico Cardile, is back in action. His presence was scheduled for Imola and Monaco, following the SF-24’s big updates. However, it is understood that he was involved in a motorbike accident and had to miss these races. Thankfully, he is already back in his office in Maranello.

By Barcelona, the engineers expect to fully understand Ferrari SF-24 2.0. As it stands, the next aerodynamic package is expected around Silverstone – intended to generate more qualifying efficiency. Vasseur had discussed the impacts of this package:

“Last year, we were competitive in Qualifying, and we had to suffer in the race. We suffered in some corners and less in others, and we worked on all these weaknesses and took a step forward – which perhaps compromised us a little in Qualifying, but it gave us many other benefits.”

In addition to this big update, we can expect the gradual introduction of smaller ones. The work doesn’t stop. Part of the team moves to France for the Pirelli tests. Later in June, there will be more activity in Maranello.

The Pirelli test at Paul Ricard will focus on the new 2025 Pirelli compounds. Carlos Sainz will take day one’s duties. On Wednesday, it will be the turn of the Monaco GP winner. Ferrari will also run tests with the 2022 car (the F1-75) at Mugello – permitted by the regulations without mileage restrictions.