Ferrari's Next Year's Car To 'Turn The Page' According Technical Director

F1
Saturday, 16 December 2023 at 17:00
charles leclerc ferrari car21
Ferrari's chassis technical director, Enrico Cardile, recently hinted Ferrari plans to change the direction of their car for 2024.
Ferrari started off the 2022 season really strong and fought an equal game with Red Bull. However, the concept of the Italian car soon reached its full potential and could not keep pace with Red Bull.
Since 2022, Ferrari has made a few significant changes to the initial concept, but in general, the team kept building on the 2022 car even in 2023. Enrico Cardile explained:
"The 2023 car has been developed in continuity with the 2022 car, trying to improve some limitations of the previous car."
However, the chassis technical director hinted the SF24 (next year's) car might pursue a different direction compared to the previous two models.
"Next year's car will turn the page. We kept the target that we set ourselves but we understood that to achieve this target we need different contents on the car. So, next year's car has been designed differently from the 2022 one."
Ferrari showed towards the end of the season their cars could be fast as they started each of the last five races from the front row. Cardile thinks the peek performance of his team's car is almost similar to Red Bull's.
"The peak performance is probably not miles away from Red Bull, but we need the full commitment of the driver, we need the right ambient conditions, we need the right combination of corners."
Ferrari has been able to match the race pace of the team from Milton Keynes on two occasions, during Singapore, and during the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
As Carlos Sainz mentioned, slow corners, long straight, and bumpy road of street circuits seemed to have suited their car. But to compete in the championship, Ferrari needs a more versatile car. Cardile added:
"Red Bull is demonstrating that it's not impossible [to have a car that performs everywhere]. It's just a matter of hard work with the right targets."