Carlos Sainz says Mercedes 1 of 3 rival F1 teams who ‘inspired’ 2024 Ferrari car

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Carlos Sainz admits that Mercedes and two rival Formula 1 teams ‘inspired’ the design of the new SF-24 car but Ferrari fashioned an array of pure ideas that ‘cannot be seen’.

The Scuderia shook the covers off their new challenger last week with a shakedown session at Fiorano. But the F1 paddock will get a glimpse of the latest Ferrari in Bahrain this week at pre-season testing. It is also the final Ferrari for Sainz after the team signed Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton will replace the 29-year-old in Maranello next year after triggering a release clause in his contract with Mercedes. Sainz was in talks with the Scuderia about a new deal with his terms expiring after the 2024 season. But Ferrari chose to land the seven-time F1 champion.

The SF-24 is the final Ferrari Formula 1 car that Carlos Sainz will drive

Sainz entered his negotiations with Ferrari as the only non-Red Bull Grand Prix winner in the 2023 Formula 1 season. He held off George Russell and Lando Norris to win the Singapore GP with a brilliant defensive drive. But last year was also Sainz’s worst season for Ferrari yet.

The Spaniard slipped to seventh in the drivers’ championship after back-to-back fifth places in his first two campaigns in red. Sainz scored 200 points last season, 46 fewer than he took in 2022, to rank two spots behind teammate Charles Leclerc. Just six points separated them.

Leclerc and Sainz’s efforts further saw Ferrari finish last year three points from Mercedes for the silver spoon in the constructors’ championship. Their combined total of 406 points were also 454 fewer than runaway champions Red Bull, with whom Max Verstappen penned 575.

The Scuderia sought inspiration from Red Bull, Mercedes and Aston Martin

So, in the hope of handing Ferrari sustained success in 2024, Sainz admits the Scuderia took ideas from Red Bull, Mercedes and Aston Martin’s cars when designing the SF-24. But it also features several unique aspects that will go unseen and fuel Sainz’s optimism for the season.

“In this car, there are also elements inspired by Mercedes, Red Bull and Aston Martin,” Sainz said, via quotes by F1i.com. “As always happens in F1, we pick with tweezers here and there what works. I think it’s a very nice car – very different from the 2023 one.

“Ferrari’s engineers have innovated. There are things on the car that cannot be seen and which are purely Ferrari ideas, which I am sure will give us greater performance.”

One area Sainz claims the Scuderia successfully developed the SF-24 is in making Ferrari’s new car meet Formula 1’s weight limits without stripping off any paintwork. Rival teams, like Alpine and McLaren, have large swathes of exposed carbon fibre to lower their cars’ weight.

He added: “Everyone is trying to lighten the weight as much as possible, as demonstrated by the fact that the colours on the bodywork are used sparingly.”