The spectacular race at Monza is now behind us, where Charles Leclerc and his Ferrari triumphed in a fairytale victory, thanks to a brilliant strategy.
Ferrari has awakened, finally showing again that they can compete for the top step of the podium after a long dry spell.
Up close and personal with Ferrari’s upgrades
Throughout the 2024 season, Ferrari’s upgrades had been less successful than they hoped. Early in the campaign, they appeared to be the second-fastest team, right behind Red Bull, but the situation quickly changed.
Ferrari introduced their biggest upgrade of the season at Imola, completely overhauling their aerodynamics philosophy by switching to an overbite sidepod inlet design. While things initially looked promising, especially after their win in Monaco, their performance soon began to decline.
During the European tour, Ferrari introduced several more changes, but none seemed to yield positive results. The engineers were at a loss as to why the SF-24 was behaving the way it was, making it difficult to find a solution.
More on the Italian GP and Charles Leclerc’s victory
At one point, Ferrari’s car was visibly bouncing through high-speed corners – a problem that other F1 teams had long since resolved.
However, Ferrari announced yet another upgrade package specifically for Monza – a track that, in theory, perfectly suits their car’s characteristics. The SF-24 is a low-drag machine that thrives on circuits where top speed is crucial.
By Friday, it was clear that Ferrari’s engineering team had come prepared, introducing a new rear wing geometry, diffuser, and modifications to the floor edges of the car. While other changes were minor and less impactful, it seems Ferrari focused on one of their car’s biggest weaknesses – the floor.
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