Ferrari is the ‘only team’ to introduce innovative ideas into its cars during F1 pre-season testing in Bahrain.
What caught my eye in the paddock was the design around the SF-24’s engine cover.
“Ferrari has been experimenting with this design,” F1TV technical expert Sam Collins said of the engine cover fins.
“Ferrari is tinkering with the mounts around the TV camera housing.
“It’s slightly twisted when it’s taken out of the bodywork. Ferrari is the only team to do that.
“I think it’s a small area of exploration to exploit.
“This is something that Ferrari has been working on quite a bit in this part of the car.
“There’s a reason the aero rake they were running is sculpted around the bodywork, and that’s because they have some very interesting new bodywork on the Halo end.
“You can see it sticking out on the side of the back of Halo.
“This is a very interesting area of development for all teams. Something that no one has done before.
“A small section just at the back of the halo is lowered and has a little kink at the bottom. It blends into the rest of the bodywork.
“It’s a really nice design. The Halo itself is made of very strong titanium, so it has an aerodynamic purpose rather than a structural purpose.
“But the details that come out afterwards are what it’s all about.”
The concept, created by Ferrari technical director Enrique Caldile, follows Red Bull’s 2023 car (although Red Bull itself has now distanced itself from the concept).
The SF-23 features a large undercut where the front of the sidepod used to be.
F1.com’s Mark Hughes said this was created by “lowering the side impact bar at the bottom of the cockpit and repositioning the radiator”.
The design objective is to “increase the velocity of airflow along the body sides and floor edges as it heads into the gap between the rear tires and the diffuser.”
Carlos Sainz told Sky Sports’ Ted Kravitz: We scanned it and ran it up and down with our setup to see what the new car brings in terms of performance and ability to play with our setup. So far, so good.
“Last year’s car was a difficult car to drive.”
Charles Leclerc added: “SF-24 has so far respected what we expected of her.
“It’s a good start, but it doesn’t mean anything in terms of competitiveness.
“It’s very early to comment on that.
“In terms of drivability, I honestly didn’t understand much after last year’s test, so it’s definitely a step forward.
“When you have an inconsistent car that has different balance from corner to corner, it’s hard to find direction and give it some love.
“That’s not the case this year.
“But my feeling is that Red Bull remains the reference.”