P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Sainz: 2024 Ferrari F1 car “behaving differently” in the simulator
In the 2023 season, Ferrari narrowly missed out on second place in the constructors’ standings to Mercedes, but collected less than half the points of Red Bull, the runaway title winner. The 2023 car showed good qualifying performance, with Sainz and Leclerc securing seven pole positions, but lacked race pace. The car had an unstable rear end, which was addressed by adjusting the set-up for more understeer, but this affected Leclerc negatively. As Ferrari develops a new concept for the 2024 season, Sainz suggests that the car model already feels different in the team simulator. However, the true performance and behavior of the car can only be assessed during testing in Bahrain, with race fuel and used tires. Ferrari is now focused on adding performance to the car in the wind tunnel and improving its consistency, as they aim to get closer to Red Bull. The team wants to understand why the car performs well in certain areas but struggles in others.
