SUMMARY
- Charles Leclerc voiced out in support of Fred Vasseur's approach this year.
- The Frenchman recently acknowledged the biggest reason behind Ferrari's giant performance leap since last year.
Charles Leclerc seems to be in high spirits as Ferrari topped the pre-season practice charts. The Ferrari driver is optimistic about the SF-24’s performance but is still downplaying the team’s resurgence. Max Verstappen and Red Bull are still massive threats to the Monegasque driver and the rest of the grid. However, he did mention the huge improvement the SF-24 is over the SF-23.
Leclerc’s 2023 season was disappointing, to say the least, as the driver didn’t manage to get any podiums, however, Carlos Sainz managed a pole position at the Singapore GP. Red Bull completely dominated the entire season with them missing out on the perfect season because of Sainz.
Pre-season testing complete! ✅ A strong final day from our boys as @Charles_Leclerc tops the timesheets#F1Testing pic.twitter.com/XopFElxBJS
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) February 23, 2024
Fred Vasseur, Ferrari’s Team Principal, expressed his disappointment at securing third at the WDC 2023. Ferrari aimed to meet Red Bull on equal grounds, but the expectations were far below Red Bull’s performance. Vasseur is now focused on a more aggressive approach for the team and Leclerc is in complete agreement.
Charles Leclerc is happy with Fred Vasseur’s mindset
The 26-year-old driver is currently on board with Vasseur’s aggressive mindset on the track, claiming that they need to bring back the momentum from the second half of 2023. Ferrari was the only team in 2023 that prevented Red Bull from getting a perfect season.
Ferrari was the second-best team after the summer break despite the disappointing start to the season. They managed to spring back up to 3rd in the WDC. Although Ferrari managed to increase their pace after the break, CEO John Elkann and President Benedetto Vigna were not happy with the team’s performance.
Fred Vasseur said, “We have to be more aggressive. We have to take more risks. We shouldn’t be afraid to risk anything. Red Bull Racing is constantly working at the limit, that’s the normal case for them, and we have to get there. We have to push the limits in every respect,”
Testing over and out! Full focus on the race next week 💪#F1 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/O0JlzS7kdC
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) February 23, 2024
Focusing on a more aggressive approach seems to be a beneficial option for Ferrari as a whole if they plan on competing with Red Bull’s dominating pace. Charles Leclerc, on a similar note, has made his goals clear for the 2024 season. The Ferrari driver talked about how the SF-23 received a significant upgrade after the summer break and if a similar momentum is continued, they can challenge Red Bull for wins.
Leclerc stated, “I think we need to continue on the positive momentum of the second part of last year…” “This is exactly how we need to approach this season, to continue that way, with clear vision.” “And significant steps forward every time we put something inside the car, which was the case in the second half of last season.”
Judging by the current state of SF-24, with the car proving to be a significant upgrade over the SF-23 throughout the testing, it is safe to say that Ferrari has made remarkable progress. But nothing is set in stone, as Formula 1 is an unpredictable sport, with even a small change being able to change the tide of performance from great to disastrous.
Ferrari’s SF-24 proves to be an upgrade over SF-23 during testing
The pre-season testing in Bahrain yielded some fantastic results for the Red team. Ferrari managed to top the charts on the 2nd and 3rd days consecutively. Red Bull managed to take the first position on the 1st day. In fact, both the Prancing Horse Drivers managed to take pole on each day. These results are a significant upgrade over last year’s since Ferrari saw one of its worst testing times last season.
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The SF-24 is not very different from the SF-23 visibly at a glance but a detailed inspection speaks volumes. There are major changes to the sidepod design, with the car getting more airflow resulting in far less turbulence for the drivers.
SF-24 also takes some minor cues from the RB19, as we see a similar radiator inlet in the cars. Ferrari aims to challenge the RB20 with their new ride but only time will tell how far the Team in Red goes with these upgrades.