Ferrari has announced that the team will launch its 2024 Formula 1 challenger on 13 February, becoming the first side to reveal a confirmed date.
The Maranello-based squad’s latest car, branded chassis 676, will be unveiled one day earlier than it did in 2023, Team Principal Frederic Vasseur revealed at a media event.
“The launch will take place on the 13th of February, the day before the Valentine’s Day,” Vasseur said via Autosport. “You will see the rest on that day.
“Why? Because we will have one day more before the [Bahrain pre-season] test,” he quipped. “No, it’s quite tight, more seriously. We have the test a bit before [its 2023 slot] and it’s quite a challenge to put everything together.
“It means that we had no other option. I think also that some other teams are doing it on the 14th, but it’s quite challenging to be all ready for Bahrain.”
Ferrari is bidding to rebound from a challenging campaign that was stymied from the outset by an inconsistent SF-23 car, which prompted a mid-season concept change.
Although Ferrari claimed the sole non-Red Bull victory of 2023 with Carlos Sainz in Singapore, the Italian marque ended the season third in the Constructors’ Championship.
Vasseur, who replaced Mattia Binotto at the helm last winter, admitted that the team is aiming to temper expectations ahead of the new season to avoid a repeat of this year.
“I don’t have to promise something,” Vasseur added. “The best way is to be focused on what we are doing to deliver.
“The Christmas gift for them will be if we’re able to do a good job in March, not for Christmas. On Christmas the gift is just based on promises and I don’t want to make promises.
“We’ll see in March if it will be the Easter gift.”
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