The start of the 2022 season was the best time to be a Tifosi in recent times. It finally looked like Ferrari had developed a title-winning car. But unfortunately, Red Bull clutched it back and dominated all the way. However, it was more about Ferrari’s blunders than Red Bull’s dominance that broke the Tifosi’s hearts. And now, a former F1 driver and race winner has crushed Charles Leclerc and Co’s dreams of beating Max Verstappen. 

Ferrari began the 2022 season with all guns blazing, impressing everyone during the first 6 races of the season. Leclerc won 4 podiums in the opening 5 races, and Sainz, 3. However, disaster soon followed as Max Verstappen and Red Bull crushed all of Tifosi’s dreams of a championship. Ferrari was expected to make a strong comeback in 2023 and the pace was evident with the SF-23, but this time around it was the tire degradation, some strategic errors, and overall consistency of Ferrari that put them on the backfoot. 

With team principal Frederic Vasseur well settled into his job now, the hopes are high from the Scuderia for the 2024 season. However, Ralf Schumacher suggested that 2024 will again be the year of Max Verstappen as he pointed out a fatal flaw with Ferrari and its drivers. Yes, it is the strategic mess-ups and unforced errors made by the drivers. To worsen things, Leclerc got 3 DNFs and 1 DNS last season while Sainz picked up 2 DNFs and 1 DNS. On the other hand, Max Verstappen showed us what consistency meant and Ferrari was far from it.

According to the Formula For Success podcast, when Eddie Jordan asked Ralf Schumacher about Ferrari’s chances of beating Red Bull and Max Verstappen, he replied, “For me, yes it could be possible but both drivers, you never know what they do. I mean they’re leading a race and they spin off. Crashing, not really into each other but making silly mistakes which very often surprises me. I think Fred is doing a good job at Ferrari. You can see now the group is growing together a bit better, less mistakes, very good pit stops. But at the moment I would not see them as the biggest contender.”

Regardless, the signs for Ferrari’s 2024 competitor seem to be positive, as advised by the news and rumors from Maranello. Let’s have a look at it.

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The SF-23 suffered a lot with the tire wear. The car was hard to set up with the working window being very limited. It would under-steer in some corners and then over-steer in others. And while the raw pace was evident, it just didn’t seem like the complete package. Regardless, Frederic Basseur recently came out and advised that the 2024 Ferrari will be 95% new when compared to the SF-23. Recent rumors also suggest that Ferrari has managed to lose 6 kgs from the car and is at the 798 kg weight limit.

It was also suggested that the Ferrari has been able to eliminate the structural defects in their car.

Leo Turrini wrote, “In Ferrari they are convinced that they have eliminated the structural defects of the last car. They worked a lot on suspension, weight distribution, overall package management depending on tire wear. The goal, whatever is said to the unveiling of the creature, will not be the World Cup.”

What are your predictions for Ferrari this season? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

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