Watch: Ferrari SF-24 breaks cover and hits the track for the first time at Fiorano
Carlos Sainz has given the Ferrari SF-24 its first laps, following the launch of the new Scuderia challenger at Maranello on Tuesday.
A brief online presentation saw Sainz and Charles Leclerc pull the covers off the new 2024 Ferrari, which the team hopes will at least put them within contention of challenging Red Bull for race victories this year.
Shortly afterwards, Sainz was behind the wheel at the team’s in-house test track, Fiorano, giving the car its first shakedown mileage.
Watch: Ferrari post clip of SF-24 leaving Fiorano pit lane
In a short clip on social media, Ferrari posted a video of the team’s garage door at Fiorano rolling up to reveal the SF-24 with Sainz behind the wheel, along with the car firing up.
Sainz then drove out of the pit lane and onto the Fiorano track, where he completed a short shakedown run before Leclerc took the wheel for a couple of laps himself.
Teams are allowed to use filming days and shakedown runs to complete up to 200km of running with their current cars twice a year as of this season, doubled from 100km last season.
The SF-24 hits the track for the first time with @carlossainz55 behind the wheel! ✌️ #CarlosSainz #F1 #SF24 pic.twitter.com/Im30njxAFh
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) February 13, 2024
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Team principal Fred Vasseur confirmed the Scuderia only completed a 15km shakedown between the two drivers on Tuesday, and will return to Fiorano on Wednesday to complete the full 200km filming day allocation they are allotted.
On the car itself, he does not believe it to be a “revolution” in terms of design, rather the team are looking to make the most of what they can during Formula 1’s current stable set of regulations.
“Revolution – I don’t know if it is the right word because we have the same regulation now three years in a row that you can’t change massively the situation,” he said.
“Again, it’s a matter of tenths of seconds. It means it’s all 0.1 or 0.2 per cent performance that we are looking for. It’s not five [per cent]. For sure, we have to do a step. I don’t underestimate the step.
“We are changing 95 per cent of the components of the car. Perhaps you can consider that it’s a revolution.”
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