Bringing a brand new automotive to its debut at all times 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 totally different.
The will to win stays unchanged, similar 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 because of the arrival of a champion like Lewis Hamilton but in addition due to the work finished by the engineers, with an optimism that additionally reveals in Ferrari’s phrases.
Frederic Vasseur defined that to succeed in the declared aim, the world title, a revolution of the SF-24 was not obligatory, however moderately a reasoned evolution, particularly contemplating the end 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 deliver 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 crew has finished an unimaginable job to be prepared not just for the primary check subsequent week in Sakhir but in addition to deliver a aggressive automotive to the observe.
“My want to turn out to be world champion has at all times 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 little thing I can to attempt to make it occur as shortly as doable, and I hope that is the best yr,” mentioned the Monegasque to Sky Italia microphones after the primary filming day.
“We’ve labored rather well, not simply me coaching however the entire crew. They’ve labored to make sure we arrive on the first assessments as ready as doable. We’ve finished many days within the simulator, many laps, and it was constructive to organize for this primary day and the assessments.”
Clearly, the ultimate phrase will come solely from the observe, with the stopwatch being the one actual instrument to seek out the solutions sought. Nevertheless, the premises are very constructive, particularly since this winter may be very totally different from the final one. If twelve months in the past Ferrari was coming off the dominance of Pink 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 usually proved very shut and open to surprises, the aim is to goal excessive. Because of this, Charles Leclerc didn’t conceal that if, on the finish of the yr, neither of the 2 world titles was gained, the season could possibly be a disappointment. The aim, nevertheless, is to make sure that this doesn’t occur and that the yr could 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 disenchanted. So, the aim now could be to win. That’s at all times the best aim for Ferrari, so whenever you’re in pink, you must goal to win. I would definitely be disenchanted if we didn’t win each titles, however we’ll do every little thing we will to win,” Charles Leclerc mentioned.
Charles Leclerc was additionally the motive force who opened the debut with the SF-25, bringing the brand new automotive to its first outing after coming 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, nevertheless, are constructive, and above all, the crew didn’t encounter any unfavorable surprises within the first 200 kilometers of testing: “I might at all times prefer to really feel extra, particularly on such an necessary first day, with a lot enthusiasm, as a result of it’s the primary time we drive this automotive,” Charles Leclerc mentioned.
“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 in the present day, and that’s the excellent news. Going past may be very tough for now, however the feeling was good, and the environment was unimaginable.” – the Monegasque driver concluded.
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