Unfortunately at this stage it is widely known that driving the Ferrari SF-23 poses challenges for both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, in a 2023 Formula One season that started with high expectations for the Maranello team, but which is turning out to be another disappointing campaign.
Throughout the Monaco Grand Prix weekend in Monte Carlo, the Maranello team initially seemed competitive in their quest to take pole position, with Carlos Sainz displaying promising performance during Friday’s practice sessions. However, an overnight adjustment leading into Saturday resulted in both drivers struggling with the SF-23 car’s setup. Carlos Sainz encountered a crash during the final free practice session, while Charles Leclerc finished third in the qualifying session, but was not able to start from the second row and fight for a podium due to a mistake by the Maranello teammate, who did not inform Charles that Lando Norris was on a fast run behind him, resulting in a three-place grid penalty for the Monegasque.
Former Formula 1 driver Alex Wurz, positioned at the high-speed Swimming Pool chicane, observed the formidable nature of the SF-23 car, particularly noting the problematic ride height of the Ferrari single-seater.
“I’m curious what Ferrari will do in Barcelona, because I saw through the fast Swimming Pool chicane the car is actually a handful for the drivers,” – the Austrian former professional racing driver, driver training expert and businessman explained in an interview for the F1 Nation podcast – “It has quite a nasty rebound where it’s just starting to bounce off, and then they really struggle. And we shouldn’t forget Barcelona will be much more high speed. So that should be low ride height and in the extreme, progressive, hard end of the suspension. For the last two corners because they’re flat, we’re not going through the chicane. Turns two and three, then turn seven, while it’s not bumpy you’re touching the kerbs a little bit, and maybe they will struggle with the ride.” – the 49 year-old continued.
The Maranello team will bring a major upgrade package this weekend in Spain, with the clear goal of addressing its aerodynamic peakiness, but Alex Wurz hopes that the Italian side will not introduce them t the expense of the drivability of the car for its drivers.
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“Ironically it was Ferrari who had the least issues in the beginning of last year with the porpoising. So maybe on their development, they didn’t feel it necessary to address porpoising and bouncing. Whereas the other teams did improve the ride quality, while they didn’t. So let’s see if Barcelona is again for them a difficult track for their ride and porpoising, causing issues for drivability which creates more driver mistakes and edgy driving styles.” – the Austrian explained.
Alex Wurz believes that Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was really concerned about the performance of the Ferrari car following the first day of running on the streets of Monte Carlo as he felt the Italian side had a lot of unused potential.
“In Monaco on Friday they were so fast, I walked next to Max Verstappen and he said ‘We actually think they’re faster than us’ so they had the potential there, but they couldn’t use it. So they need to show that in Barcelona.” – he concluded.
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