Leclerc Shares His Reaction After First Ride in Sf-24: 'Better Feeling' Than Last Year

Thursday, 15 February 2024 at 19:00

Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc shared his thoughts after driving SF-24 on track for the first time.

Ferrari F1 team officially unveiled their car on Tuesday, 13th of February. After the launch, the team moved to the Fiorano track for the shakedown and some filming of the new SF-24.

Fiorano is a Ferrari-owned private racing circuit near Maranello that is dedicated to testing purposes. Leclerc has the opportunity to drive the car, but not for too long, as he emphasized.

While Ferrari had better conditions in Italy than some other teams like Red Bull, McLaren, or Mercedes at rainy Silverstone, the car was still mounted with cameras and on Pirelli testing tires, which are completely different.

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However, after the three laps that he did (not pushing to the limit), Leclercn asserted he could feel the difference compared to the experience he had last year when testing SF-23. As reported by motorsport.com, he said:

"I remember that after the first lap last year, or if it wasn't the first lap, it was the first three, four laps, I wasn't really happy with the behavior of the car."

In 2023, Ferrari consequently struggled with the unpredictability of their car for the whole season. Fortunately, the 26-year-old suggested the initial feeling he got from Scuderia's 2024 challenger was different.

"The car was very, very difficult to drive. This year, the car feels healthier and in a better place."

On the other hand, Lercerc pointed out that he does not want to suggest he feels he has the Championship winning car as everything will be revealed on-track in Bahrain. He added:

"I want to push on the point that that doesn't mean anything on the competitiveness of the car – because if other teams have done a bigger step forward in terms of lap time gains, then it can be an easier car to drive but if it's not fast enough, it won't be fast enough on track."