The objective of the Red Team revealed yesterday is to improve: the important thing is to bring Red Bull closer, forgetting Hamilton
A World Cup that is starting to see the light of day and immediately loses part of its immediacy, ten months of life that are already stretching forcefully into the following ones. It is the paradox of a suspended time, destined to accompany the entire F.1 season, which began yesterday with the presentation of the new Ferrari and which will continue today when the Mercedes will be revealed.
image game
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Like a game of overlapping images, whoever looked at the new Maranello car would glimpse the shadow of Lewis Hamilton behind it, whoever observed the English driver at Silverstone during the day would see the silhouette of the red behind him. A small price to pay to fuel the dream of many, but the suggestions must be quickly closed in a drawer.
work to be done
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2025 is far away, now there is work to do and for the Cavallino the “here and now” has always mattered. The SF-24 shown yesterday in virtual form and then taken to the track for a few km in Fiorano, just to check “that all the pieces fit together”, as they said in the past, will have to satisfy him by shouldering the commitment. It was still a nice sight though. It happens every time these days: the appearance of the new Ferrari brings with it the usual concert of hope and optimism. It begins with an initial emotional impact that slowly drags on to a more accurate analysis, which finds (or even more wants to find…) interesting ideas to get to the point of saying “this time we’re here!”.
reduce distances
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The bad surprise of the last championship, added to the incredible dominance of Red Bull, made everyone much more cautious on this occasion, even the fans. Nobody believes that in Bahrain, at the start of the World Championship, the red team will be able to sweep away its rivals. But one fact is certain: we all start from scratch, and therefore it is right and proper to at least believe in ourselves. For this 2024, the Cavallino has set itself a simple objective: to put a competitive single-seater on track. It can mean many things – from winning a few more races than the only one in 2023 to annoying Verstappen and co – but it converges without any nuance on the need to improve performance and reduce distances. It becomes possible only if the technicians are right in their choices. The SF-24 represents a clear break with the single-seater that preceded it. It takes up Red Bull’s winning concepts, as everyone started doing starting with McLaren last summer, but it doesn’t abandon certain features that worked well and goes further on some details: the work on the rear seems truly impressive. Having reached the third year of ground effect cars, the time has become for everyone above all that of correcting the defects: the Prancing Horse drivers had complained a lot about the unpredictability of the SF-23, the new red should be more docile and consistent. Precisely who will have to take it to the track represents the other big variable in the Ferrari equation. In a different way, both Leclerc and Sainz find themselves facing a fundamental season, which will not make discounts and does not foresee any. Charles, thanks to an investiture that comes from the renewal of his contract, must act as master of the house also to send a message to those who come. Carlos will experience every race as if it were squared: going fast to prove that Ferrari were wrong, going fast to conquer a top seat as soon as possible. He certainly won’t be willing to grant favors to his partner. So far it has been impeccable, in words, but the track brings out the instinct that cannot be kept in check in drivers with ambition. The one who isn’t doing too badly is team principal Fred Vasseur. 2023 didn’t belong to him, the season was conceived by those who came before him.
ruthless formula
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2025 will bring a seven-time world champion to the team (we’ll see if there will be seven left, in February there is hope for everyone…). In between there is a year in which he will have to do better than the previous one, and it might not be that difficult, while he will try to minimize the sparks between his riders. But F.1 never waits too long and is ruthless: in less than a month the smiles seen yesterday in Maranello could prove prophetic or illusory.
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