The SF-23 remains a mysterious object. In the first third of the 2023 Formula 1 season, it was often on the verge of being labeled as a forgettable car, a red car on the blacklist. Then came a burst of performance, enough to reignite hopes for those who believe that something good could come from this project.
In Friday’s session in Montreal (following the poor race in Barcelona), a sign of life emerged, something that can provide hope. We’re not talking about triumphant goals, as Red Bull, despite being competitive, did not satisfy Max Verstappen yesterday. “We are struggling a bit with the curbs at the moment,” explained Max. “I can’t say that we are doing badly, but we absolutely need to fix a few things.”
Surprisingly, Ferrari confirmed progress on two fronts: top speed and consistent performance in race simulations. In the former case, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc achieved better results than the two Red Bull cars, while in the long runs, they maintained a fast and consistent pace.
In the absence of fast corners, which have not been the SF-23’s strong suit so far, a car capable of using the curbs effectively emerged, which is crucial in Montreal for going fast, and this immediately gave confidence to the drivers.
“I had a really good feeling,” confirmed Charles Leclerc, “and that’s a positive aspect on this track. We didn’t bring any updates after Spain; we are learning more about this package and optimizing it.” – the Monegasque pointed out.
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After the challenging weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Ferrari stayed on the Spanish track for two days of Pirelli testing, an opportunity also used to understand the car better without the stressful rhythms of a race weekend. The direction taken in Montreal seems to be the right one, but today the qualifying session will most likely (100% according to the weather forecast) be held in the rain.
“I believe we will have to face challenging conditions,” confirmed Charles Leclerc, “but the positive results on the dry track remain, and regardless of what happens in qualifying, it will be interesting to see what we can do on Sunday.”
Carlos Sainz also confirmed the progress made, but Carlos encountered a problem that significantly affected his Friday at the Montreal track.
“I don’t feel 100% comfortable with the car yet due to braking issues,” he confirmed. “We started to understand the reasons, and we will try to make some changes for FP3 and qualifying. Not having a good feeling with the brakes on this track is certainly not a minor problem, but I have confidence that it will improve.” – the Spanish driver concluded.
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