Greetings for the New Year! As we approach the season of vehicle debuts, here is a preview of the names that each F1 2024 car is expected to go by.
In Formula One, naming traditions range from the simple to the Ferrari; some want to stick to a strict formula, while others don’t.
We’ve already reviewed the customs around team car naming, but now we’re anticipating the 2024 vehicles’ monikers, including both official and speculative ones.
Stake F1 (Sauber) – C44
Easily the most sentimental car on the list, this one is also one of the easiest to predict.
What does the C prefix represent, and why has Sauber used it for every model since the release of the C12? Of course, Christine is the name of the wife of creator Peter Sauber.
It is believed that Alfa will go on with this tradition as the team switches to Stake F1 before Audi arrives. This implies that the car from 2024 should be called the C44, with sponsorship indicating that it will be dubbed the Kick C44.
Alpine – A524
With Alpine sticking to their trend and aiming for the A524, we have now reached the first confirmed name on our list.
The year, the name of the F1 project, and the fact that the cars are a mix of A500s all have a straightforward explanation.
AlphaTauri – Unknown
On this list, AlphaTauri is the trickiest name to forecast. Helmut Marko believes that in 2024, they won’t even be known by that moniker.
With their approach getting closer to Red Bull’s and the announcement that their apparel brand, AlphaTauri, will no longer be called that, it looks like this will be quite the year for the Italian club.
In the past, the model number was usually followed by the team’s initials (e.g., STR1 for Scuderia Toro Rosso and AT01 for AlphaTauri).
Aston Martin – AMR24
It is straightforward for Lawrence Stroll and co. with the 2024 car set to be called the AMR24. This stands for Aston Martin Racing 2024.
That was the same pattern for the team’s first car in 2021 and Racing Point before that followed a similar convention (RP19 etc.)
Ferrari – Unknown
It would be wiser to toss a dartboard composed of letters and numbers when it comes to Ferrari and then try to guess what would happen next.
It should be the SF-24 if they are sticking to their 2015 naming scheme, but Ferrari is notorious for loving a unique moniker. According to Italian media, their 2024 automobile is being developed at Maranello under the code name “Project 676.”
The F1-75, the car for 2022, was called in honor of Enzo Ferrari, who 75 years earlier, fired up the first Formula One car, the 125 S, in March 1947. Therefore, 2024, which will be 85 years after the Ferrari brand was introduced, could be a contender for a name change.
Haas – VF-24 (expected)
The origins of Haas’ car name date back to their owner, Gene Haas and his early business days.
In 1988, Haas Automation manufactured their first CNC machine which they named the VF-1, with the V standing for vertical which is the industry standard designation for a vertical mill and the F-1 added by Haas to unofficially designate it as the ‘Very First One’.
As a result, Haas F1 kept that tradition with the VF-16 combining the VF-1 with the year (2016) it was launched. That style has remained ever since with 2023’s car set to be called the VF-24.
McLaren – MCL37/38 (expected)
In 2023, McLaren deviated from convention by naming their vehicle the MCL60, honoring the 60 years since Bruce McLaren established the team.
However, since Ron Dennis departed the team, they had been using MCL followed by the chassis number, therefore we can assume that they will stick with MCL37 for 2024. In the event that McLaren chooses to forego a model year and instead go for the MCL60, the vehicle for 2024 might be the MCL38.
Mercedes – W15
Mercedes is another team that like to keep things simple, using the W for Wagen, which is German for “car.”
As 01 was the first vehicle produced in Brackley, they chose it when they returned to the grid in 2010 and have stuck with it ever since.
Red Bull – RB20
Another company that keeps things simple is Red Bull. The model number is followed by RB for Red Bull, so the 2024 car should be the RB20. However, there is a chance that the team will decide to honor their 20th season in Formula One.
It’s interesting to note, though, that Red Bull decided to call the latter model the RB16B rather than the RB17 since they wanted to use the same chassis for 2021 as they did for 2020. They chose not to name the 2022 car after RB17 in order to stick with the tradition of calling the cars after the season in which they compete.
Williams – FW46 (expected)
The iconic motorsports figure Frank Williams designed six cars total, the first of which was designed by the Williams team in 1978 and given the moniker FW06, after his initials.
Although the Williams team has generally gone from six forward, they have occasionally added letters to the end to indicate variations of the same model. The vehicles kept on this trend even after Dorilton Capital purchased the Williams squad in August 2020; the FW46 is the anticipated name for the 2024 model.
