Ferrari SF-24 - 2024 Miami Grand Prix

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 1:18 scale model is of the Ferrari SF-24 as raced to third and fifth position by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix at Miami International Autodrome on the 5th of May 2024. Prior to the Grand Prix, Leclerc took the fight to early season leader Max Verstappen in Sprint Qualifying, narrowly missing the first spot on the grid by 0.108 seconds. Sainz was little off the pace, qualifying fifth. Despite an action-packed encounter, Leclerc was forced to settle for second behind Verstappen during the Sprint Race, whilst Sainz left a little frustrated, unable to pass the Racing Bull of Daniel Ricciardo. For the main event, Leclerc would again start from second on the grid, missing on pole position to Verstappen by just 0.141 seconds. Sainz would begin just behind in third having clocked a time just 0.073 seconds slower than his teammate, ahead of the other Red Bull of Sergio Pérez and McLaren’s duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Pole-sitter Verstappen managed to defend his lead off the line for the second time this weekend, slotting in front of the two Ferraris, who were forced to take avoiding action when Pérez dramatically locked up and fired his way into the first corner. The Mexican’s mistake allowed Oscar Piastri to slip around the outside, stealing into third onto the back of Leclerc, and ahead of Sainz, Norris and the recovering Pérez. A couple of laps later, Piastri overtook Leclerc using the Drag Reduction System on the lengthy run between Turns 16 and 17 to take second place, as race leader Verstappen continued to extend his lead. Pérez was the first of the front-runners to pit on Lap 18, releasing Norris into clean air, whilst Leclerc followed on Lap 20, increasing the pressure on Piastri in second. Verstappen clipped a bollard at the Turn 14/15 chicane, prompting a short Virtual Safety Car to retrieve the debris, before stopping for his own pit stop on Lap 23. Piastri, Sainz and Norris all continued up front for a few more laps before McLaren and Ferrari both pitted their leading drivers on Lap 27, leaving Norris in the race lead, though still needing to make his own stop. Moments later, the yellow flags flew, and a full Safety Car was deployed, for an incident involving the Haas of Kevin Magnussen and Williams’ Logan Sargeant, playing brilliantly into the hands of Norris, who was now able to complete his pit stop with a much smaller time loss, returning to the track at the head of the field. Verstappen followed, ahead of Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz and Pérez. At the end of Lap 32, the Safety Car returned to the pits, Leclerc making a clean getaway but was unable to influence the battle of Norris and Verstappen ahead of him. Meanwhile, Sainz tangled with Piastri at Turn 11, the latter suffering damage to his front wing and being forced to pit. Leclerc claimed the final podium position, finishing just two seconds behind Verstappen, ahead of Sainz in fourth. The Spaniard was eventually demoted to fifth position, having been found at fault for the incident with Piastri.

Note: This is a 'Kerbside' model and does not feature any moving parts.