Bringing a brand new automotive to its debut all the time feels particular. For Charles Leclerc, it’s nothing new, as he has already had the prospect to take the primary laps in a brand new automotive throughout his years at Maranello, however this yr it feels barely completely different.
The will to win stays unchanged, identical to in earlier years, as does the Monegasque driver’s drive to battle for the specified outcomes. Nevertheless, this yr there’s nice enthusiasm across the Scuderia, not solely as a result of arrival of a champion like Lewis Hamilton but additionally due to the work achieved by the engineers, with an optimism that additionally exhibits in Ferrari’s phrases.
Frederic Vasseur defined that to achieve the declared objective, the world title, a revolution of the SF-24 was not vital, however slightly a reasoned evolution, particularly contemplating the result of the previous season, the place the Scuderia completed with a aggressive automotive and achieved some satisfactions.
It’s from that base that the engineers began, with a part of the ground being an evolution of the experimental one examined on the finish of the earlier yr. Ferrari desires to convey all the weather collectively to seize a title that eluded them in 2024.
Charles Leclerc is very dreaming of it, believing that this yr the entire Ferrari workforce has achieved an unimaginable job to be prepared not just for the primary check subsequent week in Sakhir but additionally to convey a aggressive automotive to the observe.
“My want to grow to be world champion has all the time been the identical. I really like what I do, I really like Ferrari, and I need to win with Ferrari. Successful the title in pink could be one thing unimaginable. I’m doing every thing I can to attempt to make it occur as rapidly as potential, and I hope that is the proper yr,” stated the Monegasque to Sky Italia microphones after the primary filming day.
“We’ve labored rather well, not simply me coaching however the entire workforce. They’ve labored to make sure we arrive on the first checks as ready as potential. We’ve achieved many days within the simulator, many laps, and it was constructive to organize for this primary day and the checks.”
Clearly, the ultimate phrase will come solely from the observe, with the stopwatch being the one actual software to search out the solutions sought. Nevertheless, the premises are very constructive, particularly since this winter could be very completely different from the final one. If twelve months in the past Ferrari was coming off the dominance of Crimson Bull and had fully modified its aerodynamic idea, this yr the SF-25 is an evolution of its predecessor, hoping to have made a step ahead in the important thing areas.
After a powerful end to final season, with a grid that always proved very shut and open to surprises, the objective is to purpose excessive. For that reason, Charles Leclerc didn’t cover that if, on the finish of the yr, neither of the 2 world titles was gained, the season might be a disappointment. The objective, nonetheless, is to make sure that this doesn’t occur and that the yr may be closed with a smile, writing a web page of Ferrari historical past.
“Final yr we completed second within the constructors’ and I used to be very disillusioned. So, the objective now could be to win. That’s all the time the proper objective for Ferrari, so while you’re in pink, you need to purpose to win. I would definitely be disillusioned if we didn’t win each titles, however we’ll do every thing we will to win,” Charles Leclerc stated.
Charles Leclerc was additionally the driving force who opened the debut with the SF-25, bringing the brand new automotive to its first outing after getting back from the London presentation at 4:30 within the morning, solely to be again on observe at Fiorano for the primary assembly with the engineers at 7:30.
Clearly, it’s too early to attract conclusions, because the filming day is extra of an preliminary contact with the automotive, though each drivers had the chance to push and begin to really feel the automotive.
The primary impressions, nonetheless, are constructive, and above all, the workforce didn’t encounter any unfavorable surprises within the first 200 kilometers of testing: “I’d all the time prefer to really feel extra, particularly on such an essential first day, with a lot enthusiasm, as a result of it’s the primary time we drive this automotive,” Charles Leclerc stated.
“As for the sensations, the constructive side is that there have been no unfavorable surprises, which is what we search for within the first laps. We didn’t encounter any sudden emotions or numbers, that wasn’t the case at this time, and that’s the excellent news. Going past could be very tough for now, however the feeling was good, and the ambiance was unimaginable.” – the Monegasque driver concluded.
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