Following the disappointing Dutch weekend, Ferrari arrives in Monza with increased confidence and renewed hope. Racing at home doesn’t change the performance by a single cent, but it instills enthusiasm in the team, something the Prancing Horse surely needed, even while remaining aware of its limitations.
On high-downforce circuits like Zandvoort or Budapest, the SF-23 has clearly shown its weaknesses, despite internal expectations for the Hungarian race actually placing the Red car in contention for pole position. The tests carried out during the first session of the Dutch Grand Prix helped outline and better understand the issues that afflict the car with a higher downforce setup, although there’s no magic wand that can provide a quick solution.
“We conducted numerous tests, even during FP1 in Zandvoort, to better understand the situation. We learned various things, although we already suspected them. It’s more about confirmation than something unexpected. Unfortunately, we don’t have a short-term solution for this type of tracks [like Zandvoort], while here in Monza, we should be closer to the package we used in Spa, so we should perform better,” explained Charles Leclerc when asked by Motorsport.com on the subject.
“The problems and limitations of the car are well understood. Now we need to find the solutions, which represent the most complicated aspect and something all the guys in Maranello are working on. But these aren’t problems we didn’t know before; we know what the weak points of the car are. Now we have confirmation, but these aren’t issues that come out of nowhere. Now it’s up to us to find the solutions, though,” added the Monegasque driver, responding to statements from Technical Director Enrico Cardile, who indicated last week that the car’s limits were evident from the early races of the season.
Putting Zandvoort aside, the hope is that at Monza, being closer to Spa in terms of aerodynamic requirements, the team can at least repeat the good result achieved in Belgium, with the podium as the goal, while there’s a certain realism regarding the chances of victory, seen as out of reach unless there are issues for the two Red Bull cars.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
“I would say that the characteristics of the track give us a reason to be optimistic. Five or six races ago, I wouldn’t have said that, but after seeing our performances in Budapest and Zandvoort, which are rather technical tracks where we struggled, and having noticed that Spa was one of our best weekends in terms of performance, Monza is more similar to Belgium in terms of characteristics. I truly hope that our performances here in Monza are more similar to what we saw in Spa.”
Here in 2019, Charles Leclerc clinched his second career victory, the first in front of the Ferrari faithful, in a sea of red ready to celebrate the success that had been missing for nine long years. However, today the scenarios are different, and the objective is to confirm themselves as at least the second-strongest force, attempting to manage the gap to the pursuers as they did in Belgium: “We’re in a very different situation from 2019. I believe that for the win, unless something happens to the two Red Bull cars, it will be very difficult to keep them behind if we start from pole position, even though achieving pole will be extremely complex. For the podium, it’s a possibility. I think if we can have a good weekend like we did in Spa, we didn’t defend throughout the race, but we were managing the gap to those behind us. That’s the goal for this Sunday.”
To adapt to the characteristics of the “Temple of Speed,” Ferrari has arrived with a low-downforce wing, equipped with a flat main profile and a movable flap with minimal incidence to improve performance on straights. Clearly, these developments are part of a package designed specifically for the Monza circuit, while other updates will arrive in a later phase of the championship, although Charles Leclerc explained that major updates shouldn’t be expected.
“There won’t be significant developments, but there will still be small things. This is the approach we’ve maintained throughout the first part of the season, that is, small but meaningful updates to find the right direction. However, it’s not set in stone. Currently, we’re working to find solutions, and if we find something that could allow us to make a significant step forward by the end of the year, I’m sure it will come. But saying it now is too early. Certainly, there are small updates that will arrive during the season,” explained the Monegasque driver when asked by Motorsport.com about the team’s program for the second part of the season, with some updates already planned before the summer break.
On paper, these developments will contribute not only to improving performance but also to making the car less unpredictable, a characteristic that eroded the drivers’ confidence throughout the first part of the championship. This behavior appeared with the 2023 car and makes it extremely challenging to drive, especially through mid-corner, as the risk is that it suddenly loses grip, especially when strong gusts of wind are present. Because of this, the Ferrari driver has had to modify his driving style to some extent, although it’s far from his preference: “This behavior emerged this year; with this car, I struggle more because it’s truly unpredictable. We suffer a lot from the wind, and even though we’ve worked hard and made progress, there’s still a lot of work to do.”
“As someone who prefers an oversteering car, I struggle to have it with these characteristics because it’s unpredictable, so I have to drive with more understeer, although it’s not a characteristic of my driving style, and I don’t like it that much. But currently, it’s the best way to exploit this car. Undoubtedly, every time we reduce the wing load, if there are variations and unpredictable behaviors, you lose less because the wings are less loaded. This certainly helps us drivers to have a more predictable car because when you lose grip, you lose less compared to when you’re on a high-downforce setup. This could assist us over the course of the weekend, but let’s wait until tomorrow before speaking too soon.”
Leave a Reply