It wasn’t meant to be the race of a turning point, but rather a race where Ferrari was seeking some positive answers. “The upgrades are just a first step, there will be more to come that might help us make the car better everywhere. For now, the SF-23 is very good only under certain conditions, especially in qualifying. There has been a lot of work in Maranello, so we hope to see the first results already in Barcelona,” Charles Leclerc had announced during the Thursday session. However, according to the men from Maranello, it was only partially successful, with the Italian car showing less progress in the race compared to the Mercedes W14.
There was a small step forward with the evolutions, but old issues problems, at least in Spain.
“This type of track is not ideal for us,” Carlos Sainz revealed at the end of the race. Ferrari was aware that they could have a fourth-place weekend, especially with the ‘old’ SF-23, on one of the most challenging circuits for the Italian car, which could certainly affect the performance of the first major update package brought to Spain through intense work done at the factory. Aston Martin’s very disappointing weekend, which nevertheless collected more points than the Italian team mainly due to issues with Charles Leclerc’s car, and the small steps forward made with the updates brought to the track, allowed Ferrari to demonstrate third-place performance in the race.
Regarding Charles Leclerc’s SF-23, the engineers checked if there were any issues with the chassis, considering its replacement, but this possibility was ruled out based on the data, as explained by F1 expert Piergiuseppe Donadoni for formu1a.uno.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
The new sidepods and the new floor didn’t eliminate the most important and persistent problems, as the gap remained substantially unchanged (7 tenths per lap) compared to Red Bull, which also brought a series of updates to Spain, while it unfortunately widened compared to Mercedes. “I had to manage the tires throughout the race. On this high-degradation circuit, I couldn’t push because we had to manage the tires to reach the predetermined number of laps according to the strategy,” a disappointed Carlos Sainz revealed after the race. When we combine this with the significant inconsistency of the Italian car, meaning the ability of a car to perform in all phases of the race, as well as in qualifying, with different tire compounds and varying fuel loads on board, the performance window becomes extremely narrow. At Montmelo, it seemed like the usual old Ferrari on the track:
“I used the hard tire for two stints; it went really badly in the first stint, while in the third stint, I felt incredibly comfortable,” Charles Leclerc stated, adding, “We really struggle to find the right tire window, and when we do, it’s a surprise for us.” – the Monegasque driver admitted at the end of the 2023 Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix.
