The Bahrain Grand Prix 2023 will not exactly go down in Formula 1 history as an exciting, intense event with an important fight for victory. The absolute domination of Max Verstappen and Red Bull was truly impressive. It was only the first race of twenty-three planned for the current championship but George Russell has already spoken of an “easy title” for Red Bull and that the RB19 “will win all the races”.
However, many are wondering what are the possibilities that the second round of the season, which will take place next weekend in Saudi Arabia, could be more interesting in terms of the fight for victory. If we take the first two races run on the fast Jeddah circuit we can lift our spirits. In 2021, after Max Verstappen’s mistake in qualifying, there was a contact with Lewis Hamilton in the race, after what had already happened at Silverstone and Monza. Last year, the battle between Red Bull and Ferrari, mainly between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, was one of the most exciting duels of the season of the fans.
Ferrari: porpoising trigger point limited SF-23 performance in Bahrain
The premise is that reliability problems are a separate matter. Ferrari worked hard on this issue during the winter and the tests on the dynamic benches were very encouraging, as also confirmed by the managers of the Italian team, only to see the SF-23 of Charles Leclerc retire in the season opener. More information on the consequences of the technical failure will be revealed in the coming hours.
At Ferrari, the problems that emerged in Bahrain have been analyzed and studied inside the factory for more than a week now. A lack of general performance, which was the effect of a lack of load on the SF-23, not only aerodynamic but also mechanical, due to several factors. In Maranello, the ideas on how and where to intervene are clear. The gap with Red Bull is wide, but as the team principal himself said, some setup choices have limited the SF-23, increasing the gap which has come close to a second per lap. The two problems that are limiting the SF-23 – as already reported during the tests – are too much understeer and porpoising that triggers at speeds lower than expected by the technicians. In Bahrain, the team raced with the rear wing that was planned for the weekend – for medium loads – and more unloaded than the previous year’s F1-75. The single pylon wing should have only been compared in free practice, for an important data collection.
The simulation data showed that the SF-23 enjoyed more load, especially at low and medium speeds. A lack of correlation mainly due to the premature triggering of porpoising, preventing it from adopting much a softer mechanical setup. There were two possibilities for the men from Maranello. Keep the SF-23 rather low, generating load at high speeds from the bottom but penalizing cornering or raising the car, decreasing the efficiency of the car with an increase in resistance to forward movement, but being able to exploit softer set-ups. A compromise was chosen, actually more towards the first option, so much so that the SF-23 proved to be very efficient and fast in high-speed sections, as explained by F1 experts Piergiuseppe Donadoni and Paolo D’Alessandro for formu1a.uno.
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However, in the medium and slow corners it showed performance that was not up to par, which only the new tire in qualifying was able to partially mask. The aerodynamic concept, for Fred Vasseur, is not a problem. “We believe in our concept and that’s not our problem. Tire degradation can also be conditioned by a non-optimal setup. I have never seen a car go fast in qualifying and slow in the race because of a wrong concept.” pointed out Fred Vasseur after the end of the race in Bahrain.
Ferrari: Jeddah a more favorable track but will it be enough to reduce the big gap from the RB19?
The next round of the 2023 Formula One world championship, which will be held on the Jeddah circuit (Saudi Arabia), should marry better with the characteristics of the new Ferrari SF-23, even if there will be some characteristics that can once again bring out the limits of this project (as seen in Bahrain). The first sector in fact requires a precise car at the front, therefore not understeering like the SF-23 was in Bahrain and where the F1-75 constantly gained 2 tenths of a second over the RB18, while the rest of the track is rather fast and flowing.
However, one must always keep in mind the trigger point of the bouncing. The second part will still be favorable to the Italian car, as it was last year for the efficient RB18. The Ferrari F1-75 gained meters in traction but then the Anglo-Austrian car recovered a lot, especially in the DRS areas.
In this 2023 season, at least as seen in Bahrain, the roles would seem to have changed, with the SF-23 superior on the straights while the more performing Red Bull especially when exiting the slower corners. A RB19 that tends to lose ground from 280-300 km/h. If Ferrari manages to capitalize on the improved efficiency of their car on the straights, which also needs to be confirmed at the Jeddah circuit, in qualifying and in the DRS zones as the 2022 RB18 did, then Red Bull could suffer more than Sakhir to get another double finish.
Without forgetting that not only will the characteristics of the circuit be very different but also the asphalt. Sakhir is one of the toughest circuits in terms of tire management, due to its roughness and the fact that it has many traction zones. “We’re going to race at a completely different track where there will be a lot more straights, more fast corners and a lot less wear. In Bahrain we had a big lead while in Jeddah I expect we will all be closer.” Max Verstappen said. Three factors that could face an easier setup compromise for the SF-23, thus being able to extract more potential than what was seen in Bahrain. But will it be enough to fill the great gap that emerged in Sahkir? Carlos Sainz is convinced that Bahrain was something out of the ordinary and that the true potential of the SF23 will be seen in Jeddah. “I am convinced that we will be much more competitive in Jeddah. The smooth asphalt of the circuit will allow us to push without being penalized by wear and tear,” said the Spanish driver.
However, we must not forget Ferrari’s direct rivals, namely Aston Martin and Mercedes. Aston Martin, which surprised everyone at the Sakhir circuit, is a car that excels at low speed and when braking, while it suffers more at high speed and on the straights due to efficiency, which did not prove to be excellent in Bahrain.
Clearly it will have to be re-evaluated in Jeddah, because the teams will take to the track with very different set-ups and adaptations compared to what we saw almost two weeks ago. As far as Mercedes is concerned, the lack of aerodynamic load at high speeds could slow down the W14 in the race for victory in this second round of the season, even if updates should already arrive on the ‘black’ single-seaters to try and take the first small step forward to a car that did not satisfy managers, technicians and drivers.
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