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Ferrari is coming into the 2024 F1 season on the back of another disappointing season in 2023. While the season ended on a high and the team did a brilliant overall job, it's hard to forget that the season started with everything being haywire.
As soon as the year began and Fred Vasseur took over at Maranello, an alarming exodus of talent from the team took place. Quite a few personnel left as part of a major reshuffle.
The end of the season was the first time we started to see glimpses of what Vasseur's leadership would look like. The Frenchman became assertive and the team also became better.
It's often said that the team exists to win, not just to make up numbers and merely participate. Are we looking at a season where Ferrari can win? If yes, how much could it achieve this season? Let's take a look.
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2024 F1 Team Preview: Ferrari
Outlook for 2024
For the 2024 F1 season, one should be optimistic about Ferrari's prospects. The team was able to iron out a lot of the issues that plagued its car in 2023. It appears to have a better understanding of how to develop the car as well.
Having said that, there's a similar concern for Ferrari as there was for Mercedes in the sense that the team would be making alterations while moving to a Red Bull concept. When it makes that kind of a commitment, it's hard not to expect the team to have a certain bedding-in period.
The power unit is still a strength and that could help with the straight line speed but one needs to see how the final design takes shape.
Overall, there are still quite a few question marks around Ferrari and how it has a track record of messing things up. The team should be better than last season but the jury is still out on exactly how good it will be.
Where does it fit in the pecking order?
A title challenge seems far-fetched for Ferrari at this stage as it appears that the team is still putting the pieces together and getting closer and closer to the front. The driver lineup with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz has a lot of learning to do, while the team is going through a maturing process as well.
In all of this, could we see the team win a few races here and there? Arguably yes, that's not out of the question. However, the year is not about fighting for the title. Rather, it's about putting some more pieces together.
Driver line-up dynamics
Finally, the most important thing for the team has to be the driver dynamics.
Charles Leclerc has signed an extension, which means he's not going anywhere for the next few years. Carlos Sainz and his future is still a question mark, which is hard to understand at this stage. It might be more or less the same but everyone will be keeping a keen eye on what happens with Sainz.
