Ferrari Technical Director Enrico Cardile has revealed the team has evolved the launch-spec version of its 2024 Formula 1 car but is unsure when its first upgrades will arrive.
Following a troubled campaign last term, Ferrari has elected to revamp its car concept for this season in a bid to eradicate the limitations of the SF-24’s predecessor.
Cardile has documented how the Italian marque’s primary aim with its latest creation was to provide a more benign and consistent platform for its drivers to start a weekend.
Several teams will tend to withhold showing elements of their car on the render images or have developments in the pipeline that are manufactured in time for winter testing.
However, speaking at the launch of the team’s 2024 charger, Cardile confirmed that Ferrari had taken the same car to Bahrain that completed a shakedown in Fiorano.
Asked how much different the car would be in Bahrain, Cardile told media including Motorsport Week: “It will be the same. This was easy and quick. It will be the same.”
Cardile has teased that Ferrari has been in the process of constructing improvements to its overhauled package but couldn’t comment on when it will introduce them.
The Italian stressed that the implementation of Ferrari’s opening developments will depend on how its newest challenger stacks up against the competition’s cars in Bahrain.
“The only thing I can say is that the car we’ve done already progressed and evolved compared to the one presented,” he replied when asked about potential updates.
“Then we will decide when it will be better to bring the first updates on track so the first step is to see where we are compared to our competitors the work in [the] wind tunnel is progressing the car is evolving and putting together the two staff will decide where to bring the first updates,” Cardile added.
Ferrari dropped to third place in the Constructors’ Championship last season, 454 points behind Red Bull, who claimed victory across all but one of the 22 rounds.
Cardile admitted that the Maranello-based squad pursued “challenging targets” on the SF-24 with the outright ambition of reeling in the reigning World Champions this season.
Pressed on Ferrari’s chances of managing that feat, Cardile said: “Difficult to say and pointless to guess if I can because in a few days we will see how much we closed this gap.
“So we worked hard, with very challenging targets in terms of lap time, and lap time constrained by the driveability, meaning we wanted this year to achieve a certain lap time improvement by providing to our drivers a car nicer to drive and robust in every condition, every condition meaning changing the wind or changing the asphalt of the car.
“So we did a huge effort on rethinking the car with challenging targets with the purpose of catching Red Bull up. If we have been successful in a few days we will know.”
Charles Leclerc, who has extended his Ferrari contract, was the first to sample the SF-24 at the Sakhir circuit, with Carlos Sainz to take over driving duties in the afternoon.
