Ferrari ambassador and former test driver Marc Gene says this year's new chassis is feeling very different to last season's SF-23, which he says is grounds for optimism as the Scuderia endeavours to close the gap to Red Bull.
"All we can tell is what the simulator tells us and the sensations of the drivers in the simulator," Gene told Mundo Deportivo at a Grand Gala event, talking about the as-yet unnamed Project 676 chassis.
"We still have to wait to see the car on the track, which will be on February 13 and then the pre-season test in Bahrain," he added. "The track is the only one that really rules and is the final judge."
Gene said that "this year the sensations are very different" compared to a year ago - and revealed that the team had been worried from surprisingly early on about the likely performance they could expect from the SF-23.
“It's true that last year at this point we were no longer completely convinced with the car from what the simulator told us," he admitted.
Publicly, Ferrari went into the 2023 season projecting a confident air about vying for race wins and titles, only to have such hopes comprehensively dashed right from the start.
Team boss Frederic Vasseur - who took over as Ferrari principal just weeks before the start of last season - has said that this year's car will be 95 per cent different to its predecessor.
While the new design will continue to utilise the front push and rear pull suspension rod design, media reports suggest that it has been tweaked with a “sort of keel” to increase the airflow and boost the ground effect.
The gearbox layout has also reportedly tweaked, together with the introduction of a 'by-pass' duct. But Gene admits that it will be a very tall order to cut the existing huge gap to Red Bull in 2024.
"Red Bull had a very important margin last year and they say that this year’s car is much better, so they are obviously the favourites," Gene said. “It’s difficult.
“Fighting with them for the world championship is a bit optimistic to say," he acknowledged. "But to take one more step forward and be able to fight more assiduously with them, then yes.”
While the SF-23 performed strongly in qualifying, it then fell away in races even though Carlos Sainz was able to take a one-off victory in Singapore - the only non-Red Bull driver to take a win all year.
Speaking at this month's Autosport International event in Birmingham, Sky Sports F1 presenter Natalie Pinkham recalled talking with both Sainz and Charles Leclerc about last year's car failing to meet those early expectations.
"Charles put in that single-lap performance, I don’t think that’s in doubt," she pointed out in response to a question from the audience.
“Is it their ability to hook up a single lap but [not] actually make it work over race distance through strategy?" she commented. "It seems to be their downfall. I don’t know the answer to that. I don’t think they obviously do, either.
"I remember feeling quite despondent when I was interviewing Carlos and saying ‘Do you have a better understanding of this car?’, and they just didn’t know why it worked in some places and not others.
“It was great to see him win in Singapore. It was a bit of a chink of light, a lifeline for them, and it was interesting to see that they could hook it up at a circuit that’s so challenging and potentially fraught with danger.
“If they could [continue to] be there to capitalise when it doesn’t necessarily all go Red Bull’s way, then they’ll do well.
"I think a good strong Ferrari is great for the sport, so I’d love to see them back in the front," Pinkham added. “I’d love to see Charles win a championship. I’d love to see him win more races."
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