Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz explains why his team can implement better strategies in the 2024 Formula 1 season and is no longer helplessly lost
Criticism of Ferrari’s strategy in the race was still a kind of “running gag” in the paddock in the 2023 Formula 1 season. Hardly a Grand Prix went by without Ferrari making a tactical error. But things are different in 2024: the traditional Italian team is in a much better position than it has been recently. Which raises the question of what is different at Ferrari now
Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz answers this question as follows: “We have made gradual progress in terms of strategy over the past three years. But if you see a [big] leap this year, it’s solely down to the car.”
The Ferrari SF-24 allows his team a certain “flexibility” in terms of strategy in the race. “And that’s something we didn’t have last year,” says Sainz.
He explains: “Until 2023, we were forced to pit on certain laps. We couldn’t extend our stints. We had so much tire wear that it always looked as if our opponents could extend their stints and then catch us again even with harder tires. As a result, we had practically zero flexibility and couldn’t do anything.”
This gave the impression that Ferrari was fundamentally wrong strategically. However, Sainz believes that this has a lot to do with the technical starting position of the race car.
“If you have a car that can handle the tires better, two drivers who can push the car more often and you have this additional flexibility, the strategy also looks better,” says the Ferrari driver.
“I don’t want to talk down our progress. But I just think it’s a big help. “
How Danner explains the Ferrari turnaround
In any case, an increase is recognizable. “And to be honest, I have to say: Chapeau,” says former Formula 1 driver Christian Danner on ServusTV.
“The guys at Ferrari have managed to get almost everything right. And you know what? The strategy is suddenly good.” This is remarkable because the strategists at the Ferrari command post “are the same ones who did the strategy last year. And you can see where the difference was. “
However, as a top Formula 1 team, Ferrari also has the necessary prerequisites to implement “what the drivers want”, Danner continued. “It’s always an interplay: the kinematics, i.e. what the suspension can do, in conjunction with the aerodynamics, in conjunction with the efficiency, i.e. how little drag I have, and then of course there’s the engine.”
“Everything together results in a car where the driver says: ‘Now I have confidence in the car’. That’s exactly what you need,” says Danner. “And that’s exactly what Mercedes doesn’t have [at the moment]. “
