Ferrari SF-24 - 2024 Australian Grand Prix

Ferrari SF-24 - 2024 Australian Grand PrixLimited to just 99 pieces per driver As raced to a 1 2 victory by Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc in the Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park Circuit on the 24th of March 2024 Each model hand built and assembled by a small team of craftsmen 1: 8 scale model, over 70cm 27 inches long Made using the finest quality materials Over 2500 hours to develop the model Over 250 hours to build each model Thousands of precisely engineered parts:

Scuderia Ferrari’s competitor for the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship season, the SF-24 built on the platform of its predecessor, the race-winning SF-23. In the hands of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, in their sixth and fourth seasons with the team respectively, the SF-24 proved to be significantly more successful than its predecessor, surpassing the total number of wins, podiums and fastest laps achieved the previous season by the halfway point of 2024. Leclerc secured three victories, including two highly emotional victories in Monaco and Monza, whilst Sainz earned another two, one of which occurred at the Australian Grand Prix just two weeks after undergoing surgery for appendicitis.

The SF-24 was Ferrari's 70th single-seater and marked the third car in the new ground effect generation. While it evolved from the 2023 model, its aesthetics were notably distinct. The car’s livery remained primarily the same shade of red as the World Endurance Championship 499P, with a similar matte finish. Following the positive feedback on the 2023 Las Vegas livery, the SF-24 incorporated more white and yellow, the latter making its return since the Monza race in 2022. Although not the first Ferrari to use yellow, the car featured yellow longitudinal stripes not seen since 1968 and paired white and yellow for the first time. With the increase in colour, black elements were minimized to just the floor, bargeboards, and small areas, while new red wheel covers sported double stripes of white and yellow, which also appeared on the race numbers. The SF-24 sported a special livery for the race in Miami, celebrating the announcement of HP as the new long-term Title Partner of Scuderia Ferrari. This design featured splashes of Azzurro La Plata and Azzurro Dino, two historic blues from Ferrari’s early Formula 1 years, alongside white accents on the wings, the engine cover, the halo, the rear-view mirrors, the wheel rims and race numbers. After the Miami race, the HP logo was incorporated into the car’s original season livery, with white retained on the front wing.

The design group, led by Enrico Cardile, aimed to build upon the team's positive end to the 2023 season, giving Leclerc and Sainz a car that was easy to drive and that reacted predictably.

The season started positively, with Leclerc qualifying second for the opening race in Bahrain. Despite experiencing brake issues during the race, the Monegasque driver still finished fourth, while Sainz claimed the final podium position ahead of his teammate. Sainz was forced to withdraw from the next race in Saudi Arabia to undergo surgery for appendicitis, leading to the inclusion of Ferrari Academy driver and F1 rookie Oliver Bearman as his replacement. Bearman performed admirably on his debut, finishing seventh and scoring points, while Leclerc claimed his first podium of the season in third. Sainz made a remarkable return for Australia just two weeks later, qualifying second behind early Championship leader Max Verstappen. In a stunning display, Sainz overtook the Dutchman on the opening lap and subsequently led home teammate Leclerc for Ferrari’s first win of the year, and their first 1-2 since the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix.

The Ferrari duo maintained their strong points scoring performances, highlighted by Leclerc’s two further third place finishes in Miami and Imola. At his home race in Monaco, Leclerc converted his pole position into a race victory – his first for 22 months – making him the first Monegasque driver since Louis Chiron in 1931 to win his home Grand Prix. Sainz finished third, despite suffering a puncture from a collision with a McLaren. In the next race, however, Ferrari faced a set back with their first double retirement in two years: Leclerc retired due to power unit issues, while Sainz spun out and collided with Williams of Alex Albon. The pairing returned to form during the European summer, with Sainz earning another podium in Austria and Leclerc achieving two more top three finishes in Belgium and the Netherlands. At the team’s home race at Monza, Leclerc secured his second victory of the year, executing a brilliant one-stop strategy to outsmart the faster McLarens, of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, in front of a jubilant sea of Tifosi. He then finished second in Azerbaijan, while Sainz retired after colliding with the Red Bull of Sergio Pérez while battling for the final podium spot.

At the United States Grand Prix, Leclerc led Sainz across the finish line for Ferrari’s second 1-2 of the season, and a first victory in the U.S. since 2018. In the following race in Mexico, Sainz clinched his second win of the season, finishing ahead of Norris, who had been let through due to a mistake by Leclerc, who ultimately finished third. This marked Sainz’s fourth career win and propelled Ferrari into second in the Constructors' Championship, just 29 points behind leaders McLaren with four races remaining. The final stretch of the season was competitive, with Ferrari claiming a further two podiums: Sainz in Las Vegas and Leclerc in Qatar, which narrowed McLaren’s lead. Heading into the final race in Abu Dhabi, Ferrari trailed by 21 points with 44 available. Despite Leclerc and Sainz finishing second and third, they were unable to overhaul the gap, as Norris took the victory. Ultimately, Ferrari finished just 14 points from their first title in 16 years.

Overall, the Ferrari SF-25 earned five wins, 17 further podiums, four pole positions and four fastest laps, scoring 652 points and securing Ferrari second position in the Constructors’ Championship. Leclerc and Sainz finished third and fifth in the Drivers' Championship, earning 356 and 290 points respectively.

This fine 1:8 scale model is of the Ferrari SF-24 as raced to a 1-2 victory by Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc in the Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park Circuit on the 24th of March 2024. Despite having surgery for appendicitis and missing the race in Saudi Arabia just two weeks prior, Sainz returned to his SF-24 and immediately challenged championship-leader Verstappen for pole, narrowly losing out by just 0.27 seconds. Leclerc would qualify fifth, a further 0.25 seconds back, behind the other Red Bull of Sergio Pérez and Lando Norris’ McLaren.

Verstappen held the lead from Sainz off the line, whilst Norris and Leclerc slipped past Pérez. After just one full lap, Sainz used his DRS effectively to close in on Verstappen and made his move between Turns 9 and 10, taking advantage as the Dutchman reported braking issues. The Red Bull soon retired due to brake failure, giving Sainz a golden opportunity to convert his lead into victory. By Lap 10, he had extended the gap to three seconds, whilst Leclerc pitted from third to switch to the hard compound tyres. On Lap 15, Norris pitted from second, only to find himself re-joining in fifth position having been undercut by Leclerc and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri through the pit stop phase. Sainz would make his stop a lap later, emerging behind only Fernando Alonso, and would regain the lead when Alonso pitted shortly afterwards, benefitting from a short Virtual Safety Car period triggered by the retiring Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. This soon cleared, leaving Sainz to continue his charge from Leclerc, Piastri, Norris and Alonso. As the race reached half distance, McLaren swapped over their cars, allowing Norris to increase the pressure on Leclerc, who soon reported his tyres were struggling. The Monegasque driver soon pitted for fresh hard tyres on Lap 35, re-emerging in fourth ahead of Pérez and Alonso. This triggered a wave of responses and, as the final stops filtered through, Sainz maintained his lead to Leclerc by around five seconds, with Norris four seconds further back in third and a significant gap to Piastri beyond him. Despite a late Virtual Safety Car, deployed after a dramatic crash involving the Mercedes of George Russell, Sainz took the chequered flag ahead of Leclerc for a momentous Ferrari 1-2 result, the first for the team since the opening race of the 2022 season. The win for Sainz was his third career win, and his first when not starting from pole position. It extended Ferrari’s record at the most successful team at Albert Park, sealing their tenth victory at the circuit.

The Ferrari SF-24 Australian Grand Prix Edition is limited to just 99 pieces per driver.