What struck me most during pre-season testing was the Ferrari SF-24, which looks to be a total change of concept compared to last year.
Not only did we see the change of concept, but we have seen the effects of this change on track.
It appeared in testing that tyre management doesn’t look like a problem anymore with this car and, with harder compounds – the C2 and C3 – the car was very well balanced.
Throughout the long-run simulations, there was only really a marginal loss in terms of performance due to the tyre degradation.
So in a way, this car reacted to a totally different concept with an opposite behaviour to the previous car.
Ferrari more predictable
Yes, the SF-23 was very strong on the single lap while it lacked consistency over a long run due to a huge tyre degradation, this was due to a balance that was far from perfect.
But this car looks a bit more predictable, especially in the corners, with the drivers impressed – Leclerc saying it is a very good baseline for Ferrari to be able to develop without all the doubts that already arose after the pre-season test in Bahrain last year.
