Scuderia Ferrari didn’t showcase its full potential in Austria. The Prancing Horse team had higher expectations for the home race of Red Bull, despite being aware that the current world champion team, especially Max Verstappen, is currently unbeatable.
Undoubtedly, Charles Leclerc’s second-place finish is a breath of fresh air for the Italian side, indicating that they are on the right path of development with the introduction of the new aerodynamic package (front wing and floor). In Spain, different configurations of the sidepods were observed, resembling those later brought by Aston Martin to Canada, with a cutaway section only in the middle and a sliding sidepod on the outer part.
If the analysis extends beyond the Sunday race in Spielberg to include the Shootout qualifying and the Sprint Race, it becomes clear that the deliberate setup, especially on Charles Leclerc’s SF-23, was not ideal for the slippery track conditions. The Monegasque struggled significantly more than Carlos Sainz in controlling a very twitchy car that failed to generate tire temperature.
Charles prefers a car focused on the front end and likely chose a more extreme setup than his Spanish teammate, who adapted better to the variable conditions. Perhaps, in the pursuit of Friday’s pole position (which Charles Leclerc missed by only 40 milliseconds), they deliberately chose a car with an overly low aerodynamic setup, considering that the competition opted for less drastic solutions for the Austrian Grand Prix.
On the dry Sunday, things went significantly better, although the gap to the Dutchman’s RB19 remains at about half a second per lap. The others finished behind the Ferrari cars, which is already an important result, but the ambition of the Prancing Horse was to narrow the gap to the leading team. With a bit more front load, the SF-23 seemed more drivable in the race compared to the Sprint Race. However, it is evident that with only one practice session, the optimal setup has not yet been found, indicating that there is still potential to be extracted from the red car.
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In this delicate phase of the 2023 Formula One season, the ability of the drivers to provide accurate feedback on the car setup becomes evident, and we know that Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have rather different approaches. The Monegasque prefers a car that tends to oversteer: he seeks the best front-end grip even at the expense of a twitchy rear end. On the other hand, the Spaniard prefers a rear end firmly planted on the asphalt, with a car that tends more towards understeer.
Charles Leclerc looks for more extreme solutions with a fast car that can be difficult to control, while Carlos Sainz seems to find a better balance in using the car. Therefore, Ferrari must find the right balance to not alter the driving style of one driver over the other, considering that the indications of the “princeling” have been prioritized, as he is considered the team’s leading driver in every respect.
The Scuderia is looking towards Silverstone, which arrives with a back-to-back race weekend (in July, there will be four GPs in five weeks). Therefore, the materials that will be seen in Great Britain have been decided in Maranello.
In addition to the Austrian package, an update to the rear diffuser will be added: the SF-23 will adopt a more comprehensive aerodynamic package, along with the adaptations planned for the historic English circuit. The red car will face the test of high-speed corners, where the Prancing Horse’s car has struggled the most. Formula 1 arrives at a traditional circuit that will be a true test of the real progress made by Ferrari.
The British event will also introduce the debut of the new Pirelli tires: the Milan-based company is introducing tires with a stiffer construction to counteract the increase in downforce on the 2023 cars, which reached a load threshold earlier than expected, originally planned for the end of the season. The teams had tested the new tires during practice sessions at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain, but it remains to be seen if the new product (with the same compounds) will have any impact on the behavior of the cars. Pirelli believes there won’t be any surprises, but the proof will be in the actual performance on track..
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