F1 Ferrari, SF-23 development plan: changing balance, not concept

“For Australia we took a different direction for development and I think it worked.” – these were the comments of Scuderia Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur, who in the last press conference said a lot about the Maranello team’s plans to get back on top fighting for race wins.

More than a world championship title that appears unrealistic, at least in the short term, the minimum goal is to take the right technical direction, to get closer to Red Bull by the end of the 2023 Formula One season and put pressure on the rivals in view of next year. The reversal of development, however, for the moment does not yet concern the shapes of the bodywork. Scuderia Ferrari decided not to convert to Red Bull’s sidepod concept, continuing with the wide and tall bodywork of the F1-75 and SF-23. This is because, after the first two championship races spent formulating theories and carrying out various set-up tests on the track, something has changed. From Australia, the Prancing Horse expresses confidence in pointing out that it has identified the car’s problems, the first cornerstone from which to plan a development strategy and restart this season.

Balance before performance
Scuderia Ferrari believes that at the moment the main problem of the SF-23 is not aerodynamic efficiency, i.e. the ratio between load and drag. In Maranello, in fact, it is thought that the maximum performance of the Red Bull, seen above all in qualifying, is not too far from Red Bull, with the internal impression of always having the potential to fight for pole position. Qualifying in Australia is seen as an anomaly due to human errors on the pit wall and the drivers, which deprived Ferrari of what could have been another front row after Charles Leclerc’s second place on Saturday in Jeddah, later canceled out by the penalty on the grid, and third in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The problem of the SF-23 would therefore not be its maximum potential, but the inability to make the most of it and express the same performance in all conditions. Between Bahrain and Jeddah it was evident how in the race, with a full tank of fuel and especially with the harder and worn tyres, the SF-23 car was much less competitive than in qualifying.

The difficulty, as always, lies in finding a good balance, preventing the car from excessively oversteering or understeering when cornering and that this behavior changes according to the type of corner. The SF-23’s “short deck” meant that, on a high-speed track like Jeddah, the car was excessively oversteering and jumpy. Oversteer is loved by many drivers, including Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen, but if excessive, it becomes difficult to push the car to the limit for over fifty laps of the race. This is the impression that emerges from Fred Vasseur’s comments: “If your car is too nervous, in qualifying you can manage it in just one lap with new tyres, but over the course of the race it’s more difficult. In the last two races we have worked in this direction” – the French manager pointed out.

Ferrari is currently working on the mechanical set-up of the suspension to act on aerodynamics, as explained by F1 expert Carlo Platella for formulapassion.it. This means adjusting the static ground clearance and the stiffness of the springs and shock absorbers differently, so as to check how the distance from the ground and the inclination of the car body change when cornering, braking and at various speeds.

In other words, in Maranello they try to keep the floor in such a position as to shift the aerodynamic balance of the SF-23 towards the rear, in search of greater stability. With this objective in mind, the next updates arriving on the Ferrari car between Miami, Imola and Barcelona will also be designed in Maranello, which will not distort the shapes of the current SF-23. “We will make some adjustments to the aerodynamic balance, which was much better in Australia and we will continue in this direction. It won’t be a B car, the developments won’t be something radically different”, Fred Vasseur’s words.

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Development beyond updates
In Formula 1 we tend to forget how updates, intended as new parts, are not everything in the development of a car. Other competitions, in which updates to the cars are few or completely forbidden, such as the WEC or IndyCar, demonstrate how by fully understanding the car and working on the set-ups it is still possible to find tenths if not seconds per lap. Furthermore, the development does not necessarily aim to improve absolute performance, but also to extend the window of use of the car, i.e. the set of conditions in which the car is able to perform at its best. That’s exactly what Ferrari is trying to do with the SF-23, trying to make it more consistent.

The new floor, tested in Jeddah and then used in Melbourne, goes precisely in this direction. The slightly raised outer edge at the rear suggests the desire for more constant aerodynamic behaviour, which does not suffer too much from rotations and the approach to the ground while driving. However, work is also being done in Maranello for an SF-23 that is less sensitive to external conditions, including asphalt temperature and wind. It is no coincidence that Frederic Vasseur points to the stage in Baku as an important evaluation of the new development philosophy, given that the wind is constantly changing direction and intensity among the buildings of the Azerbaijan city: “We are looking for something more consistent and it seems that we have succeeded. I will have confirmation of this in Baku”.

Change of concept: it’s still too early
Ferrari believes the SF-23’s main problem is a too narrow a window of use, with a car too sensitive to conditions to always deliver the good performance it is believed capable of. The picture is diametrically opposed to that of Mercedes, which for months now has been aware that the zero-sidepod concept of the W14 prevents it from finding the load it needs instead. While the German side thinks that a change of concept is essential, in Maranello they are confident that the philosophy of the SF-23 still has room for improvement: “We believe we have a lot of room for improvement from the car.” – continues Fred Vasseur – “Until we can develop the car to find downforce points, improve balance and stability, it makes sense for us to push in this direction.”

For the moment, therefore, Ferrari continues on its path, until it is thought that the SF-23 can continue to grow. Overturning the concept without the certainty of a clear improvement compared to the current philosophy, of which Mercedes is convinced, would be counterproductive for a threefold reason. In fact, it would force the Maranello team to start from scratch, with little expertise on a concept developed for over a year by its rivals; with the lower cone protecting the passenger compartment not integrated into the bottom, it would be impossible to replicate the sidepods of Red Bull.

It would mean Ferrari has to redo the chassis for 2024, with no option to choose whether to reuse the 2023 one instead to save money from the budget cap. The plan at Ferrari is therefore to continue the development of the SF-23, to then evaluate its potential in perspective in the middle of the season and possibly decide whether to continue the concept also in 2024 or definitively adapt to Red Bull. Everything finds its perfect synthesis in the words of Frederic Vasseur:

“We will bring updates during the year and at that point we will evaluate whether to continue to evolve this concept or instead if we have to drastically change direction for next year” – the French manager concluded.