Ferrari to Take the Fight to Red Bull in the Japanese Grand Prix

(Photo : Photo by Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP) (Photo by YUICHI YAMAZAKI/AFP via Getty Images) Ferrari's Spanish driver Carlos Sainz Jr gestures to a fan in the paddock ahead of the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka circuit in Suzuka, Mie prefecture on April 4, 2024.

The F1 2024 season has just gotten interesting. A shocking 1-2 finish by Scuderia Ferrari in Melbourne has put some pressure on Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing in the Championship battle.

Heading now to the Japanese Grand Prix, Ferrari is fast tracking some of their upgrades planned for Imola to help them keep up this fight with Red Bull. The Italian race team looks to capitalize on a rare misqueue from the Austrian team in the Australian Grand Prix.

This misqueue saw Championship leader Max Verstappen retire his RB20 due to a brake malfunction. Ferrari's Carlos Sainz was able to capitalize on this, taking the win in Australia, with Charles Leclerc finishing second as well.

When and if Red Bull were to make a mistake, Ferrari will be looking to take full advantage. The Scuderia bringing in their upgrades early is a sign that they believe they could keep things close with Red Bull throughout the season.

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Ferrari Will Pounce on Any Error By Red Bull

Even if the RB20 is currently quicker than the SF-24, Ferrari will hope their upgrades will close the gap even more, and possibly reliability may play a major factor in which team will be hoisting the Championship Trophy at season's end.

But can Ferrari keep up the pressure and hang with Red Bull throughout the F1 2024 season?

Ferrari's Strategy for the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka

One issue for the 2023 season that Ferrari have done an outstanding job in addressing is their tire degradation problem from last year. We saw this issue to be non-existent in the Australian Grand Prix for the Scuderia.

Now moving onto the Japanese Grand Prix, we assume there to be many two-stop strategies across the grid because of the high downforce required for the F1 track in Suzuka. But due to the climate being cooler at this time of year in Suzuka, some teams who could take better care of their tires may be able to pull off a one stop race.

After free practice, we could expect to see teams toying with the idea of going for a single pit stop in the race; and with the SF-24 being good on the tires, as demonstrated in Melbourne, we could possibly see Ferrari get experimental with their pit strategies, and hopefully not in the wrong way.