Bringing a brand new automobile 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 automobile 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 struggle for the specified outcomes. Nonetheless, 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 completed by the engineers, with an optimism that additionally exhibits in Ferrari’s phrases.
Frederic Vasseur defined that to achieve the declared purpose, the world title, a revolution of the SF-24 was not vital, however reasonably a reasoned evolution, particularly contemplating the end result of the previous season, the place the Scuderia completed with a aggressive automobile 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 needs 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 completed an unbelievable job to be prepared not just for the primary check subsequent week in Sakhir but additionally to deliver a aggressive automobile to the monitor.
“My want to develop into 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. Profitable the title in purple can be one thing unbelievable. I’m doing every part I can to attempt to make it occur as shortly as doable, and I hope that is the correct yr,” stated the Monegasque to Sky Italia microphones after the primary filming day.
“We’ve labored very well, not simply me coaching however the entire crew. They’ve labored to make sure we arrive on the first checks as ready as doable. We’ve completed many days within the simulator, many laps, and it was optimistic to organize for this primary day and the checks.”
Clearly, the ultimate phrase will come solely from the monitor, with the stopwatch being the one actual device to seek out the solutions sought. Nonetheless, the premises are very optimistic, particularly since this winter could 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 utterly 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 purpose is to purpose excessive. For that reason, Charles Leclerc didn’t disguise that if, on the finish of the yr, neither of the 2 world titles was received, the season could possibly be a disappointment. The purpose, nonetheless, is to make sure that this doesn’t occur and that the yr might 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 dissatisfied. So, the purpose now could be to win. That’s all the time the correct purpose for Ferrari, so while you’re in purple, it’s important to purpose to win. I would definitely be dissatisfied if we didn’t win each titles, however we’ll do every part 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 automobile to its first outing after coming back from the London presentation at 4:30 within the morning, solely to be again on monitor 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 automobile, though each drivers had the chance to push and begin to really feel the automobile.
The primary impressions, nonetheless, are optimistic, and above all, the crew didn’t encounter any unfavorable surprises within the first 200 kilometers of testing: “I’d all the time wish to really feel extra, particularly on such an vital first day, with a lot enthusiasm, as a result of it’s the primary time we drive this automobile,” Charles Leclerc stated.
“As for the sensations, the optimistic facet is that there have been no unfavorable surprises, which is what we search for within the first laps. We didn’t encounter any surprising 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 unbelievable.” – the Monegasque driver concluded.
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