The SF-24 is the third car of the new Formula 1 ground effect generation, but it breaks with the tradition of the past two years, starting with the look of it. The design group, led by Enrico Cardile, aimed to give Charles and Carlos a car that is easy to drive and that reacts predictably, with as a starting point, the positive feeling the drivers had in the cockpit over the final few races of last season. The goal is to allow them to make the most of the power unit’s potential, combined with their undoubted skill behind the wheel.
Colours and details. At first glance, the car is aesthetically very different to its predecessors and this also goes for the livery. Following a positive reception in Las Vegas last November, white makes its return together with yellow – always Ferrari’s second colour –, an evident link with Modena but also a nod to the Maranello marque’s other main racing activity apart from Formula 1, namely the World Endurance Championship. As was the case last year, the SF-24 and the WEC 499P share the same shade of red, again this year with a matt finish on the Formula 1 car. It’s not the first time that a Ferrari Formula 1 car has featured yellow, although the yellow longitudinal stripes have not been seen since 1968, while this year, for the very first time, it’s paired with white. There is therefore less black on the car than in previous years, now restricted to the floor, the bargeboards, part of the halo and other small areas. The wheels are red with a double white and yellow stripe, these colours also featuring on the race numbers – 16 and 55 – which continue to use the Maranello marque’s official font, Ferrari Sans, this time in italics.