Ferrari to the test of truth
Saturday there Ferrari will finally be able to find out if the new SF-24 – which appeared decidedly competitive in last week's pre-season tests – will truly be the main force in that 'others' championship' which seems destined to take shape behind the usual Red Bull. In the hope, obviously, of being able to anyway worry Max Verstappen and make this 2024 season uncertain and hard-fought.
Team principal Frederic Vasseur, on the other hand, called upon all the men and women of the Scuderia to have the “courage to dare“, suggesting that he believes strongly in the potential of the new single-seater. On the eve of the start of track activities in Sakhir, the Ferrari Head of Track Engineering also spoke, Matteo Togninalli. His role is to coordinate the entire track activity on race weekends from a technical point of view. He is therefore the right person to try to decipher what could be the turning points of the first GP of the year.
Understanding and reliability, crucial aspects
“At the beginning of the season the fundamental variables are understanding the car and reliability – explained Togninalli – we are at the beginning so whoever has done a better job of understanding the use of the single-seater well and has a clear idea of how to extract the potential can have an advantage. The further we progress in the season the more this aspect tends to level out and the differences translate into differences in pure potential”.
“The aspects of reliability – continued the engineer from Sondrio – in the same way they are understood and strengthened thanks to the mileage which gradually increases, so at the beginning of the season everyone is more exposed. Bahrain is also characterized by changes in environmental conditions, in particular asphalt temperature and wind, which have quite an impact on performance and car balance, so the ability to follow and adapt to them will be fundamental. Thinking about Saturday, we expect rather high tire degradation (compared to the seasonal average) so tire management will be a key point for race pace”.
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