The 2023 Formula 1 season has begun to heat up today as Red Bull officially launched its RB19 challenger in New York, which we can consider the first of the 2023 single-seaters to be effectively revealed. A few days ago, Haas showed the new livery of the VF-23, while the other will present their cars mainly from the second week of February.
As far as the Maranello team is concerned, the work continues in view of the presentation of the F1 2023 single-seater which will be unveiled on February 14th. Beyond the rumors about what the characteristics and aerodynamic philosophy of the new car might be, it will be a moment that will generate a lot of interest due to the presence of the new Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur.
The French manager replaced Mattia Binotto from January 9 and will have the difficult task of bringing the Prancing Horse back at the top of the sport, by fighting for the race victory each weekend and challenging Red Bull and Mercedes for the 2023 Formula 1 title.
From a managerial point of view, the strategic choices of the race will be a focal point given that setbacks like in 2022 will no longer be allowed following the various episodes that have occurred throughout the season which ended with the double Red Bull victory, in both the Drivers and Constructors championships.
To improve the overall package, the Maranello team will be able to count on cutting-edge infrastructure. This aspect could play a priority role especially over the course of the year with the development programs that will be introduced by the teams to improve their respective single-seaters. But why are the infrastructures so fundamental in order to extract maximum performance from the single-seater?
Since, from the 2009 F1 season, the track tests during the year were significantly reduced, the extreme precision in the design phase and the simulation systems have assumed a priority role regarding the definition, analysis and the development of the car. Wind tunnels, CFDs, test benches and all the different simulation tools must necessarily be at the forefront from a technological point of view to bring the virtual aspect as close to reality as possible, with a very similar data correlation between the wind tunnel and the track.
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For example, McLaren designed the 2022 MCL36 with the old wind tunnel, waiting for the new which will become available in 2024. The technological deficit is a very serious problem that has seen Ferrari struggle in the past. A team that found itself, due to force majeure, using the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne. Just like Mercedes when it went from the 50% to 60% scale model.
On the occasion of the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP, at the new Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Ferrari tested the new simulator which was then used for the study phase of the F1-75. The Dynisma Motion Generator simulator offers maximum bandwidth with minimum latency, integrating software with hardware, removing any possible obstacle between the driver and data acquisition. It is closer to the ground with a more compact structure, with smaller overall dimensions and reduced maintenance costs.
Infrastructures are therefore a priority topic. An element that Frédéric Vasseur himself underlined during an interview: “The atmosphere I experienced at Enstone, at Sauber or at Ferrari, I would say is not completely different. The motivation is the same and my job description is exactly the same. I just have to give the team members all the support to let them do their job in the best conditions“.
“When I joined Sauber it was a little different because I knew the structure and the factory – underlined Fred Vasseur – If you want to talk about the simulator, for example, Ferrari is in much better shape than Sauber. It is in every single area, I think they are a little more advanced. But it’s hard to say that the performance gap comes from this factor alone.” – he pointed out.
The factors of production, therefore, act as a basic element on which to build a solid fortress. This is Ferrari’s ambition that next year will have to exploit the weaknesses of a Red Bull, as the Austrian side will have less development time available and is even working with a rather old wind tunnel, so much so that work is underway in Milton Keynes to prepare a new one.
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