Premise: the day of the presentation of a single-seater, of any single-seater, is always a day of good intentions and optimism. There are very few striking exceptions, such as engines in smoke or serious accidents. Yet, yesterday, in the pre-Valentine's Day period, Ferrari took home a certainty: on the faces of both its drivers, the smile, at the end of the five laps in total disputed at lunchtime in Fiorano, was not connected to the day of lovers. Instead he spoke of a single-seater that confirmed everything he had promised in the calculation, then in the design, and then in the simulator tests.
One thing is asked of the SF-24, the seventieth Ferrari in the history of the world championship: to be a little better than the Red that preceded it. And which, it should be remembered, closed the 2023 World Championship with a decisive upward trend: the pole with Sainz in Monza, another one again by Spain two Saturdays later in Singapore, and with the super icing of a victory in the race which all things considered it will be the only non-Red Bull 25 point haul of the whole year.
And again: the increasingly constant competitiveness, the five front rows at the start of the five final races of the season. To finish third behind Mercedes, but by a trifle and at the end of a chase that started from over 50 points behind in Monza. A chase that without the exploded manhole in Las Vegas (resulting in a Ferrari having to be rebuilt like a Lego and with Carlos Sainz forced to start from the rear) would certainly have been worth the final overtaking on the Stella team.
It is from these data and these considerations that the Ferrari SF-24 must set off on a path of further, increasingly orderly technical progress, performance and the ability to make the most of every detail. And this, it seems, the new Rossa seen at Fiorano confirmed. The simulator data said: single-seater 6-7 tenths faster than the SF-23 at the end of its year. More drivable and more predictable. More balanced especially at the rear, which in '23 gave more than a stomach ache especially in the corners with lots of lateral Gs.
Confirmed, we said. Maybe it's too much: the layout of the Ferrari circuit, the only five laps allowed today by the regulations (two for Carlos, three for Charles) cannot be a more significant test than that. The hundred laps, always in total, scheduled today, always in Fiorano and always blessed by an early spring with sun and blue sky like those of yesterday, will give it much more.
Both drivers got out of the car yesterday and when it was time to take off their helmets, in that gesture of removing the hair stuck on their foreheads, they let out a smile. And the technicians, armored with their mouths closed, followed the same attitude for an SF-24 that no one wants to burn with imprudent gut comments. But more drivable, more predictable, more consistent at the rear… Well that seems to be exactly the case.
It's early, let's never forget that. And above all, who knows what Red Bull, Mercedes and McLaren will pull out of their hat. But the sunset yesterday in Fiorano was beautiful. How do you say? Red sky at night, good weather hopefully. Which in this case we could reduce to a “Hopefully Red”.
#Red #FormulaPassion.it
