Ferrari changing '95% of components' for its new F1 challenger

Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur has confirmed thatFerrari's 2024 Formula 1 car, which will launch on February 13 , ischanging “95 per cent” of its car components. The Italian squadendured a difficult campaign this year as it slipped to third placein the Constructors' Championship. It commenced the season aimingto contend for a title before rivals Red Bull dominated the year,winning 21 out of the 22 races. Hopes for a clean sweep were haltedby Ferrari at the Singapore Grand Prix when Carlos Sainz securedFerrari's only win of the year. Ferrari was largely unable tocontend against Red Bull across the season, but speaking to mediaincluding RacingNews365.com , Vasseur backed himself after hisfirst year at the helm of the squad. “One year ago was quite achallenge because I joined quite late,” he said. “It was a hugewave of things to manage, to understand and to discover in a coupleof weeks. “It was four weeks before the launch and five or sixweeks before the Bahrain race [when I joined]. “But now I thinkit’s a much more comfortable situation. I know almost everybody inthe company, the system, I have a better understanding of this. Ithink I'm doing a good job, a better job than last year, let's say.“We need to keep the momentum and I think that even if the lastpart of the season went pretty well. It's never enough and we don'thave to stop this.” Ferrari's season started in dismal fashion whenCharles Leclerc retired at rounds one and three in Bahrain andAustralia respectively. Sainz also failed to pick up points inAustralia leading Vasseur to question pre-season advice that hadbeen given to him. “Everybody told me that 'you will see at Ferrarithat you start the season very well and then it's going down',” hesaid. “And trust me, after Jeddah or Melbourne, I said 'what thef***? If this was the good part of the season, we will be in bigtrouble'. “The perception that you have from an external point ofview of Ferrari is probably wrong. “When I was outside, I wasalways thinking that the team would overreact to every singleevent. “But the team was very, very calm after Melbourne. We werecautious of the situation and the weakness of the car.” Leclerc andSainz's input As it looks to bounce back from a troubled season,Vasseur confirmed that vast changes are being made to next year'scar. “I don’t know if revolution is the right word. We have thesame regulations now three years in a row that you can't changemassively. It’s a matter of tenths of a second. “For sure, we haveto do a step on that, we don’t underestimate the step. We arechanging 95 per cent of the components, perhaps you can considerthat it's a revolution, I don't know if it will be. “Theexpectation is that we are focused on ourselves, we are doing agood step forward. But in the end, it's always a matter ofcomparison, you can improve by 100 steps but if the others areimproving by 120 you will look stupid.” With Leclerc and Sainzreturning to Ferrari for the fourth season as team-mates, Vaseurstated the duo had heavy involvement in the new car. “They had alot of involvement into the development of the car from thebeginning. They are quite pleased with the situation. “It'simportant to have them on board from the beginning. Carlos andCharles were both quite exhausted after the season. They said'okay, we'll have a break for the next two, three weeks, and theywill be back on the 9th or 10th of January'. “And I think it's goodalso for them to manage their time. It will be even worse or moredifficult next year.”