Attention to all: Ferrari is changing its plans for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. The bad weather expected during the weekend at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari Circuit advises against introducing too many updates at Imola, postponing the debut of the evolved SF-23 to Barcelona in the Spanish Grand Prix.
In the technical briefing ahead of the first European round of the 2023 Formula One season, the choices have been strongly influenced by the weather forecast: today, schools in the Emilia Romagna region were closed as a precaution due to the weather alert, and the Civil Protection Department is concerned about the risk of rivers and streams overflowing. However, the weather conditions are expected to improve in the coming days, so the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix should not be problematic, even though the weekend won’t be straightforward for the teams.
Therefore, the rain threatens to dampen the spirits of a Ferrari team that wanted to start its path to resurgence right on its home track and in front of the Tifosi. While Fred Vasseur had pushed for the new floor to be used in Miami, the team principal and, in general, the Maranello engineers led by Enrico Cardile have agreed that it wouldn’t make sense to debut the long-awaited rear suspension if the practice sessions are held on a wet track or in any case a track that could be affected by rain at any time of the Imola weekend.
Therefore, the Scuderia prefers not to take leaps into the unknown, “watering down” a package of updates on which the entire season’s performance depends. Of course, the SF-23 car will be adjusted in terms of aerodynamics to suit the characteristics of the Imola track, which requires a compromise between the high-speed first sector and the other two more technical sectors. Additionally, it will have a different rear diffuser compared to the bulb-shaped one seen in Florida.
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For the 4.909-kilometre Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, a small modification has been introduced, which has shown very positive results in simulations: it is an intermediate version while waiting for the more advanced floor with tapered sidepods to arrive at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.
There are two factors at Imola that discourage major changes: the introduction of the new Pirelli tires, which for the first time will not be preheated with tire blankets, and the experimentation with qualifying that will require the use of hard (C3) tires in Q1, medium (C4) tires in Q2, and soft (C5) tires only in Q3. To avoid surprises, it will be crucial to find a setup that allows for transferring a significant amount of energy to the tires to bring them into the optimal operating window. We know how the Ferrari SF-23 single-seater suffers from tire degradation when the compounds change.
In short, the Maranello team will seek to optimize the available material, aiming to exploit the potential that the red car is capable of unleashing in dry conditions. Imola is a relatively narrow track where overtaking is not easy due to its undulating nature. It will be up to Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to do their part in making the fans of the Prancing Horse dream.
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