Ferrari F1: Odds, drivers, team principal & history

Formula 1's most historic team were the only ones to stop Red Bull completing a clean sweep of race victories in 2023, thanks to Carlos Sainz's brilliant win in Singapore.

This season they will look to build on that and while overhauling Red Bull is a very tall task, they will be aiming to at least close the gap significantly.

Team principal	Frederic Vasseur
Headquarters	Maranello, Modena, Italy
Driver pairing	Charles Leclerc & Carlos Sainz
Last season's finish	3rd

Ferrari were pipped to second place in the constructors' championship by three points by Mercedes last season, while Charles Leclerc was the highest-placed Ferrari pilot in the drivers' standings in fifth.

They managed to cut out a lot of the strategic errors and poor reliability that blighted their 2022 campaign, but inconsistency still proved costly. 

Despite Sainz's win, Leclerc had the edge in the championship by six points and while the Monegasque driver inked a contract extension during the winter, it has now been confirmed that Sainz will be making way for seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in 2025.

Here we take a look at Ferrari's prospects for the upcoming F1 season…
 

Ferrari 2024 odds

To win the World Constructors' Championship	17/2
To win without Red Bull	9/4
To beat McLaren	11/8
To beat Mercedes	5/6

Key dates

Opening race	Bahrain Grand Prix, 2nd March
Home race	Italian Grand Prix, 1st September
Final race	Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, 8th December

Team Principal - Frederic Vasseur

Joined	January 2023
Date of birth	28th May, 1968
Nationality	French

Drivers

Charles Leclerc

Joined	2019
Date of birth	16th October, 1997
Nationality	Monegasque
Race wins	5
Pole positions	23

The winner of both the GP3 and Formula 2 series at the first attempt, Leclerc was placed with Sauber for his debut F1 season in 2018, earning a best finish of sixth in Azerbaijan.

Moving up to Ferrari the following year, Leclerc shone. He was robbed by engine trouble of a first victory in the second race of the season in Bahrain and ended the year 24 points ahead of his four-time world champion team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

His 23 pole positions advertise his raw pace, but Leclerc is prone to costly mistakes at crucial moments.
 

Carlos Sainz

Joined	2021
Date of birth	1st September, 1994
Nationality	Spanish
Race wins	2
Pole positions	5

The son and namesake of the 1992 world rally champion has become something of a journeyman, driving for four teams in his nine-year career.

A solid driver, he picked up seven points finishes in his debut season with Toro Rosso in 2015. After spells at Renault and McLaren, Sainz was hired by Ferrari for the 2021 season, finishing a fine second at Monaco and picking up further podiums in Hungary, Russia and Abu Dhabi.

Sainz earned his first F1 victory in the 2022 British Grand Prix, the day after claiming his first pole position, and the Smooth Operator had the distinction of being the only non-Red Bull driver to win a race last season, with a fantastic victory in Singapore, again from pole position.
 

Last Season's Performance

After an infuriating 2022 in which a potential title challenge was driven off the rails by baffling strategic decisions, poor reliability and driver errors, last season can be seen as a positive one for the Scuderia.

New team boss Frederic Vasseur cut out the chaos and while the car was less competitive than in the previous year, there were plenty of highlights.

As well as Sainz's Singapore win, Leclerc was unlucky with the timing of a safety car in Las Vegas without which he may have won there. Leclerc also claimed four pole positions and Sainz two.

But while the car was inherently quick, the performance dropped off in races as, in common with several Ferraris of recent years, it tended to use up its tyres very quickly. That also meant tracks that are less demanding on rubber suited the car much better and led to inconsistent results throughout the season.
 

This Season's Prospects

Ferrari have been the pre-season buzz thanks to their shock signing of Hamilton from 2025, but while no racing team would ever admit it, their target for 2024 has to be to finish second.

Red Bull have simply too great an advantage given that the rules remain unchanged.

Every team will be racing with a brand new car, though, and while the Ferrari SF-24 has yet to hit the track, simulator results suggest the new machine is an improvement over its predecessor. But so will everyone else's cars.

Prolonging tyre life will presumably be an area of focus as that would make them competitive at a wider range of circuits.
 

Last five seasons

Year	Constructors' championship	Drivers' championship
2019	2nd, 504 points	Charles Leclerc 4th, 264 points Sebastian Vettel 5th, 240 points
2020	6th, 131 points	Charles Leclerc 8th, 98 points Sebastian Vettel 13th, 33 points
2021	3rd, 323.5 points	Charles Leclerc 7th, 159 points Carlos Sainz 5th, 164.5 points
2022	2nd, 554 points	Charles Leclerc 2nd, 308 points Carlos Sainz 5th, 246 points
2023	3rd, 406 points	Charles Leclerc 5th, 206 points Carlos Sainz 7th, 200 points