Charles Leclerc says that Ferrari’s new SF-24 “feels more healthy” and is already “in a greater place” than its predecessor after sampling the Scuderia’s new design on Tuesday at Fiorano.
Carlos Sainz had the privilege of giving the brand new automotive its monitor debut shortly after its presentation to the media. After a sequence of trouble-free set up laps and a break, it was Leclerc’s flip to fit in behind the wheel of the new-spec machine.
The Monegasque had famous “a big step ahead” when he first skilled the SF-24 in Maranello’s simulator.
Regardless of a run that lasted only a handful of laps, and with a automotive outfitted with “cameras caught throughout it”, Leclerc supplied an equally optimistic first impression, though assessing the automotive’s stage of efficiency was not possible.
“I keep in mind that after the primary lap final yr, or if it wasn’t the primary lap, it was the primary three, 4 laps, I wasn’t actually proud of the behaviour of the automotive,” Leclerc defined.
“The automotive was very, very troublesome to drive. This yr, the automotive feels more healthy and in a greater place.
“However, I wish to push on the purpose that that does not imply something on the competitiveness of the automotive – as a result of if different groups have executed a much bigger step ahead when it comes to lap time beneficial properties, then it may be a better automotive to drive but when it is not quick sufficient, it will not be quick sufficient on monitor.
“So when it comes to competitiveness, it’s totally troublesome. By way of precise feeling of the very first laps, I’d say I’ve had a greater feeling this yr than I did final yr.”
Leclerc reckoned that it could probably take a couple of races for Ferrari to totally perceive its automotive’s traits and particularly the power of its bundle.
The group should additionally gauge its design’s sensitivity to numerous monitor and ambient situations, a serious flaw embedded in final yr’s automotive that closely impacted its stability.
“Trying again on the earlier yr, I feel you all the time want to attend two or three races to know how robust of a bundle you will have on completely different tracks, as a result of typically you may have a really robust bundle on one monitor and then you definately get to a different one and you might be struggling far more,” Leclerc defined.
“So I feel we’ll all the time have to attend two or three races to see our automotive in several situations, completely different winds, completely different temperatures, completely different monitor layouts earlier than truly drawing conclusions in what could be achieved and what can’t be achieved that season.
“[Last year] we had an issue of stability, as I used to be saying, which was principally linked to the surface situations, which is wind sensitivity particularly, but in addition temperature, ambient temperature or monitor temperature. And this was affecting in all probability extra the race tempo than the quali tempo.
“And in that, as drivers, we’ve an essential suggestions to provide to the group as these are issues which might be a bit harder to outline on knowledge.”
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