The F1 constructors’ Championship has changed drastically in just over a week. Ferrari have become legitimate title contenders, leap-frogging Red Bull and putting serious pressure on McLaren. There is more good news for Ferrari, who have more upgrades on the way.
Ferrari stick to disciplined development approach
In many ways, Ferrari have proven they are better operationally than Red Bull and McLaren. Despite suffering a significant development slump after their Barcelona updates (which relegated them to 4th-fastest team), they are on the verge of leading the standings.
Competent strategy, effective simulator work (allowing for good baseline set-ups, especially in Sprint weekend) have played a significant role.
Of course, having two drivers like Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz is also a tremendous asset.
However, upgrades have been the difference-maker in recent months. After struggling with development in the European leg of the season, Ferrari introduced corrective updates in Monza.
These delivered an instant impact, as Leclerc secured victory in front of the Tifosi in Italy. Since then, the SF-24 has proven extremely competitive – especially in more conventional circuits.
This has allowed Ferrari to make rapid progress in the standings, despite plenty of upgrades arriving from Red Bull, Mercedes and McLaren in the meantime.
Fred Vasseur: We will only bring upgrades if we are confident
Critically, Ferrari’s trajectory is strong evidence that their wind tunnel data is correlating accurately with what is happening on track.
This means the Maranello squad’s updates are working as expected, which is something many teams have struggled with. Not only does it give confidence for the remainder of 2024, but also for Ferrari’s path next season.
Still, team principal Fred Vasseur insists that Ferrari will not rush their updates:
“Regarding the upgrades, if we have good options, we will do our best to bring something,” Vassuer explained in COTA.
“But it will probably be more [likely] not at Vegas, but Qatar.”
Qatar, the penultimate race of the year, is where Ferrari are most likely to bring their next updates.
In a season where a few tenths can make the difference, the factory in Maranello will push to ensure they can chase any possible improvements in the coming weeks.
Until then, there is still some performance to unlock. The team are still collecting data about the SF-24’s Italy package, meaning there is room for further optimisation before reinforcements arrive.
