‘Not a Red Bull copy’ - Rumoured design details of Ferrari’s ‘676’ emerge

Details surrounding teams’ development of their new challengers remains top secret at this stage, but fresh reports in Italian media claim Ferrari have made some key decisions about their yet-to-be-named 2024 car. 

It is currently going by the name ‘project 676’ before the true identity of Ferrari’s next F1 car is revealed upon its unveiling on February 13 ahead of the upcoming season. 

Despite Red Bull’s rampant success since the start of the new ground-effect era of F1 regulations that were introduced in 2022, Ferrari are set to continue to favour their own design path.

One of the unique characteristics of the SF23 - the only non-Red Bull car to win a race in 2023 - was the so-called “by-pass duct”, or ‘S-duct’, which sees the airflow carried over the belly of the sidepods. 

In contrast, Red Bull guru Adrian Newey’s design has favoured an approach which pushes as much air as possible down to the bottom of the car, via the extreme undercut seen on the sides of the ultra-competitive RB19. 

The Newey-inspired creation has resulted in Red Bull taking 38 of the 44 race wins on offer since the start of F1’s new regulations. 

While Ferrari’s engineers are set to follow some of Red Bull’s successful concepts, the Italian outfit will seemingly continue to go their own way when it comes to their unique approach to airflow. 

According to Motorsport, the ‘676’, “cleansed of the errors of the SF-23, should represent a good step forward”.

“The gearbox will be included in a new transmission case that is slightly shorter and significantly narrower (20 mm on each side) to have a larger diffuser, capable of generating more downforce with the car body, perhaps being able to reduce the incidence of the wings,” the report continues.