Ferrari seeks validation of latest upgrades in coming races

Ferrari's recent floor upgrade may have contributed to its emotional home victory at Monza, but the team remains cautious about its overall impact on their 2024 Formula 1 campaign.

The Italian squad, which has grappled with high-speed bouncing issues since introducing a new floor in Barcelona, is reserving judgment until they can test the latest specification on more demanding circuits.

The Monza factor

While Charles Leclerc's triumph on Italian soil provided a much-needed boost for the Scuderia, team principal Fred Vasseur acknowledged the unique nature of the Monza circuit makes it difficult to fully assess the upgrade's effectiveness.

"It's quite difficult to understand the impact of the upgrade on a track like Monza, because we are in such a different configuration compared to the rest of the season,"

Vasseur explained. He emphasized the razor-thin margins in qualifying, where six cars were separated by less than two-tenths of a second, highlighting the significance of even minor improvements.

Waiting for the real test

The true litmus test for Ferrari's latest floor will come at tracks featuring longer and faster high-downforce corners.

With the upcoming races in Baku and Singapore characterized by low-speed sections, the team won't get a definitive answer until the United States Grand Prix in Austin in mid-October.

Carlos Sainz, who finished fourth at Monza, echoed this sentiment:

"We will need to wait for more normal tracks to see if this upgrade has really turned our season around and we're going to fight for wins from now on or we are going to go back to what we saw in Zandvoort."

Sainz further elaborated on the upcoming challenges:

"In Baku there's not one single high-speed corner or medium-speed corner, it's all low-speed, very particular like Singapore.

So I think we are not going to see how much we've improved the car in high-speed to medium-speed corners."

Cautious optimism

Despite the positive signs, Ferrari's drivers remain measured in their expectations. Leclerc, while acknowledging the progress, believes McLaren and Red Bull still hold an advantage on more downforce-dependent layouts.

"The upgrade definitely brought us closer to McLaren, but I don't think it's enough to be the car to beat for the rest of the season on other tracks,"

Leclerc stated. He identified Singapore as a potential strong venue for Ferrari but maintained that further improvements are necessary to consistently challenge the front-runners.

With the high-speed bouncing issues potentially resolved, the Scuderia now faces the challenge of translating this improvement into consistent performance across varied circuit layouts.

The coming races will reveal whether Ferrari's latest floor upgrade marks a turning point in their season.