END OF YEAR REPORT: Ferrari – A ‘huge step forward’ in a successful season, but can they improve further in 2025?

The 2024 season certainly marked a significant improvement for Ferrari, having scored their highest number of victories since 2018 as well as launching a serious bid for the constructors’ championship. While they missed out on that particular accolade to McLaren, the Scuderia can take several positives from their campaign ahead of what will be a fascinating year in 2025, given the impending arrival of a certain seven-time world champion. Here is the end of year report for the Italian outfit…

Best finish

Charles Leclerc – 1st in Monaco, Italy and United States; Carlos Sainz – 1st in Australia and Mexico City

Ferrari ended the opening half of the season with one win apiece for Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, with the former becoming the only non-Red Bull driver to win a race in the first five rounds of the campaign in Australia while Leclerc scored a memorable home victory in Monaco.

Despite a slightly tough run in the middle of the year, the Scuderia returned to the top step when Leclerc took a win in front of the Tifosi at Monza, before a one-two followed in Austin and Sainz claimed the squad’s final triumph of 2024 in Mexico City.

To end the season with five wins is a decent showing for the team – with it being only one less than the amount claimed by constructors’ champions McLaren – and marks their strongest victory tally in six years. It is a number that they will clearly be hoping to build on, however, in 2025.

AUSTIN, TEXAS - OCTOBER 20: Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and Monaco and Carlos Sainz of Ferrari and — Ferrari claimed five victories in 2024, including an especially dominant one-two result at the United States Grand Prix

Qualifying head-to-head

Leclerc 15-9/0 Sainz/Bearman

Leclerc has long been known for his one-lap pace and the Monegasque seemingly proved this again by beating Sainz in the 2024 qualifying head-to-head. He also outqualified substitute team mate Ollie Bearman when the youngster stepped in for Sainz at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as the Spaniard underwent appendectomy surgery.

In terms of pole positions, Leclerc achieved three during the season (though his Belgian Grand Prix pole was inherited after initial pace-setter Max Verstappen took a grid penalty) while Sainz earned just the one in Mexico.

Race head-to-head

Leclerc 15-8/0 Sainz/Bearman

A similar picture played out in the race day head-to-head, with Leclerc crossing the line ahead of Sainz on 15 occasions. It should be noted that the Canadian Grand Prix is not included here, given that both drivers recorded a DNF in Montreal.

Leclerc also ended the campaign on more points, having collected a total of 356 en route to P3 in the drivers’ championship while Sainz took 290 points in fifth place. They were more evenly matched on race wins, however, given that Leclerc only collected one more than his team mate.

LUSAIL CITY, QATAR - DECEMBER 01: Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving the (16) Ferrari SF-24 leads — Leclerc outscored Sainz in both head-to-heads during their final season as Ferrari team mates

Best moment

Achieving a one-two is naturally a much-celebrated feat, and Ferrari managed to do this not once but twice in 2024 – meaning that they did so more than McLaren and Mercedes, who each scored this result on only one occasion.

The first came in Australia for the Scuderia – where Sainz clinched the win ahead of Leclerc – before a second followed during a dominant performance at the United States Grand Prix, with Leclerc leading the way.

But it is perhaps fitting that each driver is responsible for an especially memorable moment of their own. Sainz’s aforementioned victory at Albert Park marked an extraordinary comeback just two weeks on from his surgery after suffering appendicitis, and it also proved what the 30-year-old was capable of as he looked for a seat on the grid for 2025.

And while Leclerc’s second P1 of the season at Monza was something to behold – given the presence of the ever-passionate Tifosi – it was his long-awaited win in Monaco that proved particularly emotional, with it finally bringing to an end his extensive run of bad luck at his home event.

Worst moment

Ferrari have previously enjoyed great success at the Canadian Grand Prix over the years – but this year’s visit to the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve proved disastrous for the Scuderia. The troubles started in qualifying, where both drivers failed to progress to Q3 for the first time all season.

Their fortunes did not improve on Sunday, with Leclerc suffering an engine issue early on in the event before retiring on Lap 43 of 70. Sainz, meanwhile, struggled to make headway through the field and picked up damage following contact with the Kick Sauber of Valtteri Bottas, resulting in the Spaniard also recording a DNF.

With this coming after the high of Leclerc’s Monaco win, it was a frustrating weekend for the squad – and while they returned to the points next time out in Spain, some tensions emerged between Leclerc and Sainz in this race after they briefly made contact on track, marking a difficult mid-season run for the squad.

2024 Australian Grand Prix: Carlos Sainz crosses the line to take victory in Melbourne

Going forward

The fight for the constructors’ title went right down to the wire and, while their chances of clinching the championship were admittedly fairly slim at the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Ferrari refused to give up and did all that they could up to the chequered flag, with Sainz ending the race in P2 while Leclerc put in a storming drive to claim P3 from a starting position of P19.

Despite ultimately missing out on the crown, this performance was a strong one to end what has been a solid season for the team. Reflecting back on the year, boss Fred Vasseur admitted that he was “very proud” of their campaign, one in which he feels the squad made a “huge step forward”.

However, there were still some ups and downs along the way – with the SF-24 more suited to some tracks than others – and Vasseur has stated that the Scuderia still need to “improve everywhere” entering into 2025.

Morale and motivation appear high at the Italian outfit, with Vasseur and Leclerc both turning their focus to next season. But while Sainz will not join them as he moves over to Williams, the team will prepare to welcome Lewis Hamilton in what has been one of the most high-profile – and unexpected – driver switches in the sport’s history.

Leclerc has spoken positively of the impact that the seven-time world champion can have on the team, the Monegasque relishing the “really big challenge” of going up against one of the most successful drivers of all time.

It will be intriguing to see how their relationship plays out, as well as how Hamilton adapts as he joins a new team for the first time since he arrived at Mercedes in 2013. Can the Briton help Ferrari to continue their progression and put themselves even more firmly in the fight for both titles in 2025?