Ferrari have named the day for the launch of their 2024 contender, making them the first of the ten teams on the grid to put a definite date in next year's calendar.
Speaking at a media event in Maranello, team principal Frederic Vasseur said Ferrari would take the covers off its new car on February 13, one day before Valentine's Day.
The successor to this year's SF-23 is currently codenamed 676 but will receive its proper designation at the launch event, which will be attended by Vasseur, drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, and other top team staff.
“The launch will take place on the 13th of February, Vasseur revealed. “You will see the rest on that day." The launch typically takes place at Ferrari's Fiorano test circuit close to the team headquarters.
Last year the launch took place on the 14th which made them the eighth team to break cover, with only Mercedes and Alpine staging later events. Red Bull had been first up on February 3, starting where they finished - out in front.
Pre-season testing will begin in Bahrain a week later on Wednesday 21 February, with Vasseur quipping that the timing of the launch event meant "we will have one day more before the test!"
“No, it's quite tight, more seriously," he continued. "We have the test a bit [earlier than 2023] and it's quite a challenge to put everything together. It means that we had no other option.
"It's quite challenging to be all ready for Bahrain," he admitted, adding that he expected many other teams to use Valentine's Day to stage their launch events this time around.
Ferrari came into 2023 hoping that their car would enable them to seriously challenge Red Bull not just for wins but ultimately the title. Unfortunately that did not go to plan.
©Ferrari
Sainz was the only non-Red Bull driver to win a race with victory in Singapore, but Ferrari as a whole faltered and finished only third in the constructors' standings behind not just Red Bull but also Mercedes by three points.
“We had a tough first six months until Monza, and our reaction was a good one," Vasseur said. “I'm quite proud of the reaction of the team during the season as a group. It means that as a group we work pretty well.”
Vasseur - who took over the role of team principal from Mattia Binotto at the start of 2023 - is determined to keep expectations under control this time around and not make any rash predictions or promising.
“I don't have to promise something,” he told Italian media. “The best way is to be focused on what we are doing to deliver.
“The Christmas gift will be if we're able to do a good job in March, not for Christmas. On Christmas the gift is just based on promises and I don't want to make promises," he said.
“We'll see in March if it's going to be the Easter gift.”
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