F1: Ferrari Reveals SF-24 Livery for 2024 Season as Leclerc and Sainz Get Ready to Fight Red Bull

Ferrari has just revealed its latest SF-24 Formula 1 car, emphasizing that it is a significant departure from its predecessor, with a claimed "95% new" design. With Lewis Hamilton signed for the 2025 season, the Italian squad is entering the 2024 season with newly acquired energy, as displayed during the online launch ceremony from the team's Maranello headquarters.

The team's goal for the upcoming season is to fix the problems that Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc had last year, which affected their performance. Even though the 2023 car was extremely quick in qualifying, it had a hard time keeping up with the dominant Red Bull squad throughout the race. Carlos Sainz won the Singapore Grand Prix, and that was Ferrari's lone victory of the season.

After suffering setbacks in Formula 1 last season due to aerodynamic performance, the team is looking to improve overall performance, especially in race conditions, by introducing improvements that address this issue. With these upgrades, Ferrari hopes to have a better run in the next races.

Charles Leclerc said: “I like the look of the car a lot, including the white and yellow parts on the bodywork. But of course, what really interests me is how it will perform on track, as that’s all that matters. The SF-24 ought to be less sensitive and easier to drive and for us drivers that’s what you need in order to do well. I expect the car to be a step forward in several areas and from the impression I formed in the simulator I think we’re where we want to be. This season the aim is to be front runners all the time and I want to give our fans plenty to cheer about, by dedicating race wins to them.”

Carlos Sainz said: “When I saw the SF-24 for the first time, I couldn’t wait to jump in and fire it up. Now, I’m looking forward to driving it on track to see if it correlates with the feeling I had from the simulator, which is that it’s the step forward we all want. The aim is to have a car that’s more driveable and therefore able to run at a consistent race pace, as these are the basic requirements to fight for wins. We drivers have done our very best to give the engineers precise feedback and I’m sure the workforce in Maranello will have listened to our needs. We want to give the fans something to cheer about, as they were so supportive last year, even when things weren’t going our way.”

F1: Ferrari's 2024 Driver Line-up

In 2024, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will continue their partnership for a fourth consecutive season. However, the announcement of Lewis Hamilton's impending arrival at Ferrari next year has overshadowed the buildup to the forthcoming campaign.

Entering his fourth season with Ferrari, Sainz has a remarkable record, having won two races and earned five pole positions. But after the shocking news of Hamilton's transfer broke, Sainz will leave Maranello at the conclusion of this season, so he'll have to negotiate a new spot on the Formula One grid. The soon-to-be 30-year-old began his Formula One career in 2015 with Toro Rosso, spending nearly three seasons with Red Bull's sister side, and then bounced about between Renault and McLaren.

After reaching his first podiums with McLaren, Sainz joined Ferrari in 2020 and began a crucial chapter of his career, winning his first Grand Prix and securing pole position in 2021 at Silverstone. His subsequent four pole positions and win came last season in Singapore, which was Ferrari's only non-Red Bull win in 2023.

Although it is too early to tell what the SF-24 car will be capable of, and it would be unrealistic to expect it to beat Red Bull, Ferrari is excited about the progress made and the plans that will guide it into the Hamilton era.