Leo Turini on the presentation of the new Ferrari car

In his long career in Italian racing journalism, Leo Turini has never seen such a presentation as yesterday’s appearance to the world of a new Ferrari car, after which he briefly outlined his impressions…

It was a good day, don’t you think?
Let’s summarize briefly.

John Elkann was also at the presentation. The president of Ferrari, under whom the team won the 24 Hours of Le Mans again, preferred to see the new SF-24 through the eyes of a fan. But he was there, even if he didn’t make any statements.

As Adriano Celentano sings: “L’emozione non ha voce” – emotions are wordless. It is better to let the facts speak for themselves. It will be nice if the Scuderia tries to fight for victories now, while everyone waits for Lewis Hamilton.

But his invisible presence was already felt. It speaks volumes that Sylvia Hoffer, Ferrari’s head of press, asked: “Only ask questions about 2024, not Hamilton, please…”

Understandable, because the following happened yesterday: the baptism of the SF24 inevitably coincided with Carlos Sainz’s farewell from the team. Of course we all know the words of that old song, they say: we are professionals, the future is one thing, but the present is a completely different story.

Come on, it’s obvious Carlos wasn’t in the mood, his eyes didn’t express anything. Charles Leclerc, on the other hand, was very carefree. After all, he will have to meet Lewis at the Fiorano Gate, and where the Spaniard will be at this time is not yet known.

I swear to you: in my entire life as a journalist I have never seen anything like this, at least not at Ferrari.

I won’t talk about the car, I’m not well versed in technology. Let’s discuss another topic, less risky: I don’t know who had the task of developing the paint scheme of the SF-24, but he did a good job. The combination of traditional red and yellow, which symbolizes Modena, and elements of black and white looks attractive. I don’t want to talk about politics, but I think even the Prime Minister of Italy will pay attention to this new car, I tell you for sure. Because the attitude towards Ferrari unites the nation.

It is of course a pity that you were not in Fiorano yesterday and did not see how the car immediately drove onto the track to feel the first taste of asphalt. As everyone already knows, it was driven by Sainz: it was a kind of gesture of recognition of the achievements of the man who would make way for Lewis Hamilton in less than twelve months.

Of course, we won’t know until the Bahrain Grand Prix what speed the SF-24 is capable of, but yesterday crowds gathered around the Ferrari factory circuit, people even climbing trees. There was a feeling that they all wanted to witness something very important, because Ferrari is a symbol. And in such cases, emotions are sometimes wordless.