ANOTHER MISS: Where did Ferrari Go Wrong in 2024?
The 2024 season was Ferrari’s closest chance in a while that they had to the Constructors’ championship, one they haven’t taken home since the 2008 season. However, once again, the Scuderia failed to seal the championship as they fell short 14 points to McLaren’s 666 total points following the season finale in Abu Dhabi. Starting off the season in P2, then dropping down to P3 during the mid-season, then climbing their way back up the P2 once again, the Maranello team seemed to be able to hold on to championship contention, bouncing back from mistakes and scoring crucial points in several races. Evidently, however; it wasn’t enough to bring home a record 17th Constructors’ championship, which begs the question: where did it all go wrong?
A stellar start to the season with four podiums and a win in the opening five races saw Ferrari rocket up the standings into second place, just behind the then-dominant Red Bull team. Still, it seemed that this season would be a similar one to the previous one with Red Bull easily taking both championships.
The sixth round in Miami, however; proved otherwise. With an unexpected surge of pace and some luck with the safety car, the Miami Grand Prix saw McLaren’s Lando Norris taking the top step of the podium, leaving Verstappen in second by a gap of over seven seconds. Charles Leclerc rounded off the podium in P3, once again scoring critical points for the future. More importantly, though; this race gave hope to the Tifosi that Verstappen could be stopped this season, giving them a chance for the championship.
Following another podium in Imola and a stellar home victory for Leclerc in Monaco, Ferrari saw themselves just 24 points behind Red Bull in the Constructors’ standings. With Red Bull’s sudden lack of pace and Ferrari’s quick response taking advantage of it, it seemed as though the championship lead could be taken over the next few races. However, multiple unfortunate events that happened afterwards are credited to have taken the title away from the Italian team, with the most infamous one being in the race just after their emotional Monaco victory.
Event 1: Worst-Case Scenario - Canadian Grand Prix
Arriving at the Canadian Grand Prix (Round 9/24) on a high note, Ferrari would need a few more consistent high-points finishes ahead of Red Bull if they wanted to take the lead of the championship. Unfortunately, it had seemed like Ferrari’s luck had run out after their stellar points run in the opening races. A poor qualifying session saw Leclerc and Sainz start in P11 and P12 respectively, while their two rival teams had better results with Verstappen in P2 and Norris in P3. It was evident that they needed to power through the midfield and challenge the frontrunners not to lose grasp of the title.
On race day, lightning struck them twice. An early power unit issue saw Leclerc drop further down the pack, followed by a poor strategy call to box for hard tyres which saw him plummet to last place. He soon retired after. With just one car running, Ferrari needed to make this count. Sainz would suffer the same luck, however; as Williams driver Alexander Albon failed to swerve in time to avoid the #55 Ferrari following a phenomenal double overtake, resulting in the retirement of both drivers.
This would be Ferrari’s first zero-points race since the 2023 Australian Grand Prix, and their first double retirement since the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. With rival team drivers Verstappen and Norris finishing in P1 and P2 respectively, this race was a devastating blow to the Scuderia, dropping them down to 49 points behind the WCC leaders’ Red Bull and more importantly, putting them in the danger zone of dropping down to third with McLaren closing in with just a 40-point gap between the two teams.
It is this race that is most credited with fans that ultimately resulted in Ferrari losing the Constructors’ championship with several fans commenting that “Ferrari had sold their souls for the Monaco win,”
Event 2: Battle Gone Wrong - Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Following a one-two in Hungary for rivals McLaren and an disappointing P4 and P6 finish for Ferrari, the Scuderia dropped behind McLaren in the standings to third overall, and that’s how they stayed by the time of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix (Round 17/24). They had managed a podium finish and even a home win at the Italian Grand Prix in between the three rounds separating the Hungarian Grand Prix and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but it was inadequate to take back the P2 position from McLaren, who clearly had the fastest car on the track at this point.
Despite an excellent 1-3 (LEC-SAI) qualifying for the Scuderia, it was McLaren’s Oscar Piastri who flew past into the lead and with his pace, would seemingly remain there for the rest of the race. Ferrari now needed to maximize their points with a double podium finish, which seemed completely possible given that their other rivals Verstappen and Norris were much further down the order.
However, this time around, it was the Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull who seemed to be an issue for the Italian team, racing hard against Sainz in order to defend the P2 position. Up until Lap 50 of the race, the order went PIA - PER - LEC - SAI. With Leclerc overtaking Perez who was subsequently vulnerable to Sainz’s attack, the Spaniard went for a bold move that saw Ferrari take the necessary 2-3 position. However, the Red Bull driver refused to give in, making an attempt to overtake the Ferrari. Sainz swerved to defend, but the combination of Sainz’s bold defense and Perez’s aggressive attack resulted in disaster, the two cars colliding and flying into the barriers, retiring both cars and destroying Ferrari’s hope of outscoring McLaren in the race.
With a potential loss of 15 points and ultimately being outscored by McLaren by 21 points, the clash in Baku was a major setback for Ferrari in a race that was looking to be a chance for a comeback, with McLaren now overtaking Red Bull for the lead of the championship. At this point in time, Ferrari’s gap to Red Bull in second was 31 points and the gap to McLaren in the lead was 51 points.
Event 3: One Overtake Away - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Despite their shaky mid-season, Ferrari managed to get their form back and scored consistent podiums with a one-two in Austin and a back-to-back win in Mexico. This saw them easily take second place in the standings from Red Bull as they closed in further to McLaren in the lead. Outperforming McLaren in Las Vegas (Round 22/24) and Qatar (Round 23/24), Ferrari was now 21 points away from the championship lead and title as they approached the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Although they had narrowed the gap down, there were several doubts on whether the Scuderia could bring home their 17th title as McLaren seemed to show immense pace, locking out the front row with an impressive 1-2 qualifying finish. Further, a Q2 exit combined with a grid penalty saw Leclerc starting 19th on the grid with teammate Sainz starting behind the two McLarens in P3.
Everything changed on the race start, however, with a decent start from Sainz keeping him in position and an exceptional start from Leclerc seeing him rocket up the order. More importantly, Oscar Piastri collided with Max Verstappen on the first corner, both spinning out and obtaining 10-second penalties each. This saw Sainz shoot up to second behind Norris as Leclerc made more moves to bring himself closer to the leading pack.
By Lap 36, Leclerc had brought himself into the final podium position. With one McLaren out of the way, the Constructors’ championship seemed to be in their grasp with the only obstacle being the race leader Lando Norris. Despite being in P3, Leclerc was over 20 seconds behind Sainz and Norris, making him unable to assist his teammate in the overtake. Now, it was all down to Ferrari’s parting driver to bring them the first Constructors’ title in over 16 years.
Due to Piastri being so far down the order and the Ferrari’s being in the 2-3 position, if Sainz were to overtake Norris and win the race (Ferrari 1-3), this would bring them a total of a 40 points gain. With McLaren’s 19 points (NOR-P2, PIA-P10), this would have the Italian team outscore them by exactly 21 points, bringing them to an equal 659 points following the race.
According to the FIA’s regulations, should two teams be at an equal amount of points in the final standings, the team with more wins will take the position. Prior to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, both Ferrari and McLaren were tied at five wins each. If Sainz had won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, this would bring Ferrari’s total to six, outscoring McLaren in wins and thus taking the Constructors’ title.
However, Sainz seemed unable to catch up to Norris let alone match his pace as the time gap increased lap-by-lap. With Norris in a faster car and his teammate 25 seconds behind and unable to assist him, Sainz eventually had to settle for second place with Norris winning the race and sealing the championship for McLaren, their first since 1998. With just one overtake away, Scuderia Ferrari had lost the championship.
The issue for Ferrari this season seemed to be the similar one that has lost them championships in the past: inconsistency. Although they managed a stellar comeback in the final races of the season, it was their shaky mid-season races that eventually cost them dearly. Combined with these three “turning point” events, the Maranello team saw themselves just 14 points away from the title following the end of the season.
Looking forward to a fresh start in 2025 with 7-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton now in the car, the team can only hope that the next season before the regulation changes can be a stable and consistent one, allowing a smooth cruise to the title they’ve played second-fiddle to for the last decade.