Williams and Sauber have revealed they will launch their 2024 seasons at ceremonies on Monday, February 5. Williams will officially begin their 2024 buildup in New York City, while Sauber will showcase the C44 at an event in London.
Ferrari is the only other team to announce their plans thus far, scheduling a February 13 release of their Ferrari ‘676’, one week before pre-season testing begins in Bahrain.
Drivers Guanyu Zhou and Valtteri Bottas only scored a combined 16 points for the Alfa-Romeo Ferrari Sauber entry in 2023, and the team have committed to finding a solution for enhanced performance for the year ahead.
“Next year’s car will not be an evolution of this year’s car because we think that there are some limits in this concept that we cannot exploit further,” said Managing Director of Sauber, Alessandro Alunni Bravi. “So, we will really have a completely new car from chassis to suspension, everything, all the areas.”
The 2024 season will see the team conclude their partnership with Alfa Romeo and run as Sauber ahead of its upcoming 2026 partnership with Audi.
Meanwhile, Williams enjoyed their strongest season since 2017, scoring 28 points and finishing seventh in the World Constructors Championship. Twenty-seven of those points came through a resurgent Alex Albon, with rookie Logan Sargeant claiming a sole contribution at the United States Grand Prix.
While the team have committed to a 2024 season launch, they have not guaranteed they will showcase their car. In their 2023 release, they revealed their livery but left fans waiting for a glimpse of that season’s machine.
The team enter the upcoming campaign having announced a ‘complete shift in direction’, with a leadership restructure, including the addition of Pat Fry as Chief Technical Officer, an optimistic outlook and a strategic shift recognised as critical elements of returning the manufacturer to their glory days.
“Next year is really the sort of putting together of minds as to how we completely shift direction,” Team Principal James Vowles said in an interview with Autosport. “I’m actually really looking forward to how that turns out in four or five months’ time.
“More so, I’ve got Pat (Fry) alongside me now. He knows how to do this, he’s revered up and down the lane, ask anyone near enough and you’ve got a good chap in Pat.”
Announcements of launch dates for other teams are expected in the coming weeks, with pre-season testing beginning in Bahrain on February 21-23.
The Bahrain Grand Prix kicks the 2024 season off a week later.
Header Image: Guanyu Zhou in testing in 2023. Image: Formula 1
