Ferrari has decided to take a risk: even with a newly paved track with much more grip, the Scuderia has introduced a package of technical updates that are a juicy preview of what we will discover more clearly at Imola during the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Fred Vasseur doesn’t want to waste time and has supported the line of those in the Racing Department who want to dare to try to quickly improve the SF-23. It should be said and repeated that the puzzle of modifications will be complete only during the Spanish GP in Barcelona, but the idea of parceling out the developments serves to evaluate every single update, trying to understand its effectiveness on the SF-23 car.
In Miami, the Scuderia introduced so many new things that are not limited to being just detailed changes: in addition to adjusting the wings to the type of track, we witnessed the debut of completely new parts.
The spoon-shaped rear wing, once again supported by the mono pylon, is designed for medium-load tracks, but the most important change in the rear concerns the diffuser: the shape of the central part shows a more marked narrowing behind the gearbox, allowing for a larger diffuser expansion chamber, thanks to the design of a sort of bulb, confirming the news reported in the last few days by the Italian media.
In the Florida race, a new redesigned floor appeared: the most interesting modifications concern the leading edge. Not only was the design of the external “barge board” reviewed, which is essential to divert turbulence from the front wheel away from the floor, but the flow pattern at the entrance of the Venturi tunnels was also completely changed.
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It is noteworthy the appearance of a sort of “barge board” very close to the chassis with an inclination of about 45 degrees, which extends towards the front from the leading edge of the floor for the same length as the outermost vertical bulkhead. Moreover, the first flow separator in the Venturi tunnels is no longer straight but strongly inclined outwards. It is clear that in Maranello they have changed their philosophy in search of solutions that allow the red car to run with a lower ground clearance.
As a result, the curbs have also been revised, now characterized by a round slot in the middle of the floor, while towards the rear wheel, there is a gradual narrowing of the floor with a small raise in the last section. Even where the floor elbow rises to create the diffuser, an area has changed its proportions, giving the impression that what we saw in Miami is only the first chapter of a technical update that will be seen in the next few races.
Friday’s free practice showed that the modifications have increased the downforce: therefore, the SF-23 could benefit from these innovations in pursuit of performance, but during the night, there are those who have worked on the simulator to adjust the setup of the red car, due to the fact that in the long run, overheating of the rear tires led to a very pronounced degradation which heavily influenced the pace. As a result, Ferrari was slower in terms of race pace not only against Red Bull but also compared to Aston Martin and Mercedes.
Ferrari aims to confirm itself as the second fastest car also in the USA, so it is possible that they will give up some performance in the single lap to find greater consistency in the race runs. The key is to find the right mechanical setup, while waiting for the long-awaited revised rear suspension to arrive in at the Imola circuit.
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