Lewis Hamilton was offered the Ferrari seat in the middle of the 2023 season, but the 7X champ politely declined the offer and signed an extension with Mercedes. Fast forward half a year, the Brit is set to race for the Scuderia in 2025. There must’ve been some reason to switch from the team that he won 6 titles with and move to the Red Team, apart from the lure of the Ferrari name. This might very well be the performance curve of the Maranello-based outfit. With Frederic Vasseur at the helm, Ferrari has started to look like the invincible force of old, and the signs are ominous for Max Verstappen and Co.

Last year, Ferrari and Mercedes were close in terms of performance. In the race for second in the Constructors’ Championship, Mercedes just beat the Scuderia. However, both teams were way off the dominant Red Bull’s pace. But the start of the 2024 season suggests that Ferrari has taken a step toward the Red Bull whereas Mercedes seems to be falling down the ladder. What has Ferrari done to the SF24 that resulted in the leap in performance? 

Another question that arises is: what are the car’s characteristics like? Has Ferrari set themselves up to beat Red Bull as the 2023 champions’ dominance is questioned? Is Max Verstappen’s dream of the 2024 championship under threat?

Ferrari Found the Sweet Spot with SF24.

Just like everything else, building and setting up an F1 car is an act of balance. The balance between sacrificing top speed for more downforce, sacrificing lap times to nurse the tires, sacrificing aerodynamics for cooling and so much more. Remember the 2009 Belgium GP when the Force India driver Giancarlo Fisichella took the pole position? The Force India car was perfect for the Spa circuit. Even though the car lost time in the turns, it made it up on the long straights.

This is essentially what every team tries to do with all the cars. Find the right balance of things. Obviously, every team wants to be the fastest on straights but still have loads of downforce. Millions of dollars are spent on R&D to achieve this perfect balance. Aston Martin, for example, last year was amongst the quickest cars in traction zones in the earlier races but lacked high-speed downforce and top speed. Yet, managed to be the second-fastest team during the first half of 2023. 

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Ferrari had a similar story last year, where the car was super quick on one lap pace, was quick on straights and slow corners, but ate up its tires, was a nightmare to set up & get in the working window, and wasn’t particularly good around high-speed corners. As a result, they were quick on tracks that had a lot of slow corners and demanded less from the tires. This includes tracks like Monza, Las Vegas, and Singapore. But with the 2024 car, they have found the sweet spot between all aspects. Let’s elaborate on it.

What are the characteristics of the SF24? Where has Ferrari improved to challenge the Red Bull? Frederic Vasseur explains.

Frederic Vasseur claimed that the SF24 is 95% new compared to last year’s competitor. And this can be seen in the results showcased so far this season. Ferrari doesn’t seem to be struggling from the woes of the 2023 season, i.e. tire wear and ease of drivability. Recall how last year, Charles Leclerc complained of the car understeering and then oversteering on the same lap. Two completely opposite characteristics in the same lap. They showcased a fundamental flaw with the 2023 competitor.

It further provided evidence of how easy it was to get the SF23 out of the working zone. In other terms, the working window was very small. The SF24 seems to be much complied to variable conditions and tires as Frederic Vasseur explained himself. Along with this, the straight-line speed seems to be as good as the Red Bull, with slower corners again being a strong area for the car. 

According to AS.com, Frederic Vasseur said, “The real step is in the consistency with different compounds, between two ‘stint’ of the same race, the car is much easier to drive and also to develop.” He added, “Last year the main problem was that the car was difficult to drive, mistakes were made and the tires were damaged. Now it is easier to know where the limit is and it is easier to manage the tires, everything is more under control and we are not in survival mode.”

What tracks will favor Ferrari’s SF24 characteristics? Is Max Verstappen’s dominance under threat?

Christian Horner was recently asked about Ferrari’s performance at the Australian GP and how or why it trumped Red Bull. Horner replied, “Because of the nature of the circuit and the surface, the ‘graining’ of the tire is something that Ferrari has under control, its long runs were good on Friday.” He then added, “Carlos’ second ‘stint’ is impressive. When you see an advantage like this, it means that you keep the tire in very good shape. Ferrari is particularly strong in that area, it’s no coincidence that they were strong in Las Vegas and here.”

A quick look at the qualifying analysis from the Australian GP tells us that Ferrari had the quickest car in Sector 1, lost a little ground in Sector 2, and was on par with Red Bull in Sector 3. This indicates that Ferrari was on par with Red Bull in medium-high-speed corners (Sector 1) as well as slow-speed corners and chicanes (Sector 3). The Scuderia lacked a bit of straight-line performance and could’ve been down to the DRS efficiency. 

Obviously, the parts for each track will be different depending on the layout of the circuit and hence this isn’t a proper comparison. But considering this baseline, Ferrari will be super competitive with Red Bull at circuits like Singapore, Las Vegas, Monaco, Spain, and Hungaroring. However, a lot also rests on the in-season development. It is believed that Red Bull will soon come with updated sidepods that might be a lot closer to Mercedes’ Zeropod design. The performance gained by that will also shuffle the performance order a bit. 

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For now, the pecking order still has Red Bull at the top but closely followed by Ferrari. The Scuderia will not make it easy for Max Verstappen to replicate the same dominant run from last year. In fact, there might be a little chance that we’ll have a championship fight on our hands.