Forward, slowly. Ferrari leaves Hungary heartened. Two reasons: first, the path of development of the SF-24 is the right one; second, Charles Leclerc was able to compete in a race without problems and gave a demonstration of his indisputable qualities, finding a morale boost that a fourth place could rarely give.
Just to clear up any misunderstandings: the Scuderia had marked the Hungaroring with a double red underline, counting on the fact that the Hungarian track was one of those that could best adapt to the characteristics of the red car. Maranello’s expectations, therefore, were to aim for a podium, but the distance from McLaren and Red Bull, for the moment remains sidereal, while the game with Mercedes for the role of third force can be considered more open.
Detail of the Ferrari SF-24 bottom that was used in Hungary and will be seen again at Spa
Picture of: George Piola
Ferrari, therefore, cannot say it is satisfied with Charles Leclerc’s fourth place and Carlos Sainz’s sixth place, who made a terrible start, because the Prancing Horse was and remains the fourth force.
Fred Vasseur was keen to point out that the red team has halved its lead from last year, limiting the margin to 20 seconds, but these numbers don’t have much foundation when there’s a McLaren that has defied all expectations, overtaking Red Bull in performance in the same amount of time.
The good news is that Ferrari is going to Spa-Francorchamps with the evolved floor that ran in Budapest. The idea of returning to the Imola configuration, as happened in Silverstone, was rightly shelved. The hopping feared in Hungary was not seen, so the stiffening of the pavement of the floor worked, giving the drivers more positive sensations.
Further adjustments will be brought to Belgium where the bouncing effect will certainly be more marked, but the Maranello technicians are confident that they have taken the right path to try to get back on track.
Ferrari SF-24: attention to setup is one of the keys in which the red car can grow
Picture of: George Piola
The SF-24 in the race showed flashes of competitiveness that surprised the Prancing Horse itself: the data collected, above all, with Leclerc’s set of hard tyres were very encouraging, demonstrating a Ferrari that has once again suffered due to a window that was too narrow in the exploitation of the tyres. In a limited temperature range, the red car was briefly the fastest single-seater on the track, while it suffered more with the mediums.
The work on the set-up in the Ardennes will go precisely in the direction of trying to open up the range of use of the tyres: Pirelli has chosen the three middle compounds of its offer (C2, C3, C4) on a track that has been resurfaced and which is able to guarantee significantly greater grip, with lap times that will be decidedly lower than those of last year.
Ferrari wants to arrive at the summer break with a smile, so as to plan the second part of the championship without too much pressure, waiting for Vasseur, interim technical director, to give up this role by announcing the organizational chart of the new Scuderia. And we expect some surprises…
#Ferrari #advanced #fund #approved #SpaFrancorchamps