Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz has emphasized that the Maranello team’s recent upgrade package is focused on creating possibilities for the future rather than delivering immediate performance gains for the SF-23 single-seater.
At the Spanish Grand Prix last week, Scuderia Ferrari unveiled a bold upgrade that involved replacing the highly distinctive scalloped sidepods with a more conventional design, although reduced cut-outs were kept.
Carlos Sainz showcased the one-lap speed of the 2023 Ferrari Formula 1 car by securing a second-place qualifying position for his home race at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. However, persistent tire degradation continued to pose challenges for the Maranello team, resulting in a disappointing backward slide during the Spanish race.
Still, the Ferrari man wanted to point out the positive impact of the upgrade package, when asked by the media how the updates will help the Maranello team and what direction Ferrari will take in the future:
“The new package was meant to improve mainly the medium-to-low-speed and, in that area, we have definitely felt a step in the right direction. A step into a different direction is not so much a big upgrade or a big change in our performance but opening a bit of a different window of working range for the car – that was the main target of this upgrade, not to suddenly go half a second quicker. I think that is doing the job and it’s working well. We also want to make the car more predictable, more drivable, easier to put together a lap and, hopefully, it will go in this direction,” Carlos Sainz explained.
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“Our high-speed performance really hasn’t been good since the beginning of the season. Since Australia, we’ve been struggling with the balance and with the bouncing and still many things are happening to us at high speed. We just want to focus on that and see if we can improve that because actually, low speed is not bad at all for us.” – Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz concluded ahead of the next round of the 2023 Formula 1 campaign, the Canadian Grand Prix, which is scheduled to take place at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

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