The Dutch Grand Prix has brought many conclusions after a long summer break. One of them is that McLaren is as strong or stronger than it was at the end of the last round of the championship in July. Another is that Ferrari has made a leap forward. A detail that did not go unnoticed by Fernando Alonso, who sees Carlos Sainz’s team as the favourite in the upcoming races.
“Ferrari will be the car to beat in Monza and Baku. I would like to be in their shoes, to be honest”said the Aston Martin driver. “I think that in the next races Mercedes will have many ups and downs, but McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari will always be fighting for the podium,” concluded Fernando Alonso.
An ambitious package of improvements
A fitting conclusion if we take into account the mega package of improvements with which the Italian team is looking to win at Monza. Ferrari came out of Zandvoort with a more positive performance than expected, although the gap to Norris’ McLaren at the end of the race was still wide, at around 25 seconds, roughly the same as that suffered by the SF-24 to Red Bull at the start of the year with the RB20. Now Ferrari is preparing for the always-awaited Italian Grand Prix, at Monza, a circuit where the SF-24 hopes to be closer to the top.
The Italian team has decided to take a more “McLaren” approach, preferring to concentrate all the new features in a single macro update, which will be the last of such an important test of the season. The results that the Maranello team expects from the new Monza package are to put the SF-24 back in a window capable of having a stable charge at medium and high speeds.
The Monza package includes not only the lower part: the low-load rear wing will also be new, according to Fórmu1a.uno
He The fund will be the main component to be declared on arrival at Monza and will guarantee a large part of the additional benefit. There will be a “multi-upgraded” SF-24. In fact, In addition to the new floor, there will be some aerodynamic innovations, although they are considered minor in terms of performance.
The “shopping list” that Ferrari will present in Brianza will also include a new low-loading rear spoiler, which will be declared and combined with a single-profile beam spoiler . At the last edition of the Italian GP, the Maranello team had “recycled” the previous year’s wing, placing the same specification seen in 2022 on the F1-75 directly on the following year’s SF-23. A reuse that will not take place this year. The new, more efficient, low-loading wing will retain the classic “pointed ears” at the connection between the endplate and the aerodynamic surfaces.
This is certainly great news for Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, which contrasts with Fernando Alonso’s disappointment: Aston Martin has already confirmed that Italy will be the third race in a row without new parts.