Ferrari had reportedly gained back at least 1.5 seconds of competitiveness according to simulations within the Maranello team’s Racing Division before the start of the 2023 Formula 1 championship. The SF-23 was meant to be the fastest car in history, boasting hyper-sonic speeds. Meanwhile, Mercedes had finally understood the “zero pod” philosophy and managed to make it work, granting them fantastic advantages that would have propelled them to the top. But then you wake up, the dream ends, and the smiling face of Max Verstappen fills newspapers, websites, and specialized magazines.
The RB19 car from Red Bull, on the other hand, is truly solid. It’s not flawless, of course. Occasionally, even Red Bull has faced challenges. However, their performance advantage over the competition is so significant that not fully optimizing the race weekend still means winning. Perhaps without enormous gaps, but on Sundays, at the end of the race, everyone still gazes up at the Austrian car from below. This is the brief summary of the 2023 Formula 1 racing campaign at the midway point.
The F1 summer break has begun. Some will head to the beach, others to the mountains, taking a break from the track for a while to recharge. After all, a well-deserved rest is necessary for those who work most of the day without a break, for many months. On the other hand, others will postpone their vacations to an undetermined date, seeking to take advantage of the three-week break to recover. Among these are the technicians of the Prancing Horse, deeply engaged in a learning curve that might be steeper than anticipated.
The same goes for Mercedes, of course. Abandoning the aforementioned aerodynamic configuration and opting for a more factual path, Toto Wolff and his team are fully determined to utilize the enforced interruption to the maximum. The factories are closed by regulation. They can’t go to the headquarters, use the wind tunnel, or conduct tests on CFD. Nevertheless, staying operational remains relatively feasible when considering the available technology. Discussing and planning for the future remains a more than viable option.
Ferrari Seizes the Summer Break to Enhance Its Track Know-How
Over the last week, several meetings have taken place at Scuderia Ferrari. The intention to meticulously organize operational plans is evident, bearing in mind that the “reconstruction” of the team has only just begun. While the acquisition of personnel involves longer timelines, the operational level presents various situations to accelerate the extensive path the team must go through to regain its greatness.
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Learning from one’s mistakes. The preceding phrase might sound commonplace, and it most likely is. Nevertheless, this factor contributes to improvement, and as such, cannot be underestimated. Among the various issues encountered in this first part of the championship, a very important functional aspect is under scrutiny. According to FUnoanalisitecnica sources, technicians and engineers have conducted a study to establish different methodologies for approaching the race weekend.
This initiative stems from the desire to find a much more factual correlation between the simulator and the track. The Maranello team has demonstrated a certain level of familiarity with the basic setup of the car. This was particularly evident, for instance, during the sprint race weekends. In such a context, where the only useful free practice session complicates things by “setting up” the car optimally, it leads us directly to the point: Ferrari knows what to do in the factory but often struggles to react to changes. This is in contrast to Red Bull, which can maximize data collection on Saturdays and present the best version of itself.
For this reason, the proper use of the available tools is crucial. The skill of interpreting gathered information isn’t readily available on supermarket shelves. Hence, the decision to exert greater effort in the second part of the championship, with the clear objective of attaining a superior ability in this regard. This is a crucial step for the future, and the Ferrari team has decided to invest heavily in it.
Source: Alessandro Arcari for FUnoanalisitecnica
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