Last year, talking about the reluctance of the Mercedes W13 to do what it was born for (winning), in the Anglo-German clan, the car was nicknamed the “temperamental diva.” This was the kindest expression, as there were others much less flattering and verbally clean. You will surely remember that team radio where Toto Wolff, apologizing to Lewis Hamilton, compared the car to less noble substances. If that car was deserving of being described in not-so-flattering terms, what images could describe the Ferrari SF-23? The effort of imagination is up to you.
In twelve World Championship events, the Red has done everything but shine. The expectations at the beginning of the season, hyped in a resounding presentation, collapsed rather miserably, as the car supposed to win now struggles in fourth place, embarrassingly distant from Red Bull. The seasonal objective, a meager consolation, is to be the first among the normal teams. Which means being the winner among the losers. Not much joy.
One of the problems with the car conceived by David Sanchez – who almost fled at night to reach Albion after realizing he had given birth to the antithesis of a technical masterpiece – is its unpredictability. How many times have we heard the protagonists of the red world say, more or less, “This circuit suits our car,” only to see very modest performances? Or conversely, how often have we heard them say, “This track is challenging,” only to deliver a more than decent weekend? In short, on careful reflection, we have documented what the protagonists of the Italian team stated before and after Budapest and Spa-Francorchamps.
When things go like this, it’s hard to get a rabbit out of the hat. The standings suffer, and so do the drivers’ performances. Carlos Sainz is still without podiums, and in the last championship event, due to the error at the Source, he saw his teammate overtake him in the standings. Charles Leclerc managed to secure two pole positions and three podiums: Azerbaijan (P3), Austria (P2), and Belgium (P3). Nothing exhilarating, but perhaps the best achievable considering the technical issues and some strategic errors that never willingly leave Ferrari.
Leclerc changes style to better utilize the Ferrari SF-23
Charles must maximize the material he has in his hands, and to do so, he understood that a change of pace, a different approach, a partial genetic mutation in his driving style was needed. We’re not talking about drastic revolutions, but necessary refinements to try to extract something good from a car that is not particularly good.
Charles Leclerc explained that it is very difficult to provide details of this revision in driving because they are very slight changes. Small adjustments that, however, made a big difference. Charles explained, after the Belgian GP, that his driving style is very aggressive, but he needed to revise certain aspects of certain corners. The car responded adequately, and that boosted the driver’s and the technicians’ confidence.
Are the efforts of the former Sauber producing results? Apparently yes, but success can also be attributed to the progress being made on the car. Especially in terms of managing Pirelli compounds, an area where, too often, Maranello has lost its bearings. The Monegasque, an extremely talented driver and a man of great intellectual honesty, highlighted this aspect without taking exclusive credit, which should be shared with the engineers.
“It’s still too early to say, but for a couple of races now, we’ve been managing the tires better, and we haven’t had huge degradation. On that front, it seems like we are making progress. However, we still need to be careful because sometimes, especially with very particular conditions, we still struggle and go out of the operating window.”
Ferrari works to “open the operating window”
Charles Leclerc, indirectly, points out one of the technical issues that the engineers are considering, even for 2024. Both the current car and the one to come must be able to replicate one of Red Bull RB19’s main virtues: significantly expanding the tire usage window. This is something that neither Ferrari nor the other teams struggling behind Milton Keynes manage to do consistently.
How many times have we seen a Mercedes, an Aston Martin, a McLaren, or even a Ferrari perform excellently in qualifying, only to lose their way in the race due to changing weather or asphalt temperatures? Red Bull hardly ever shows this “attitude”: the RB19 is a car that manages to be consistent in every thermal and atmospheric condition.
Therefore, Ferrari has almost a moral obligation (given the confidence that the driver places in the team despite difficult years) to provide effective technical material to its drivers. Moreover, Charles Leclerc has demonstrated that he can contribute by analyzing his own driving style in-depth and making changes to adapt it to current needs. A driver’s ability is not only evaluated by the stunts they perform on the track, but also by their ability to study the elements they have at their disposal to enhance performance.
The Monegasque’s sagacity lies in this dynamic. Although still a young driver, he already has several years of experience under his belt. However, despite this, he doesn’t consider himself arrived and is constantly searching for those small elements that can make a difference. This clearly won’t be enough to win because the technical means are essential to achieve victory. However, it reflects the efforts being made on all sides, not just by the team, to create the ideal context where the seeds of triumph can flourish.
With such a determined driver who, as we anticipated in another piece, could possibly extend his contract with the red team, Ferrari knows it has sorted out one issue. Namely, having a top-class horse to bet on for the title. Now, however, comes the difficult part: the engineers at Maranello have the task of finally providing a car that lives up to the challenge and is consistent both in terms of performance and throughout an entire championship.
Source: Diego Catalano for FUnoanalisitecnica
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