Ferrari SF-23: tire and power unit management key to a positive result in 2023 F1 Sao Paulo GP

Ferrari’s sprint Saturday can be summed up in a short line: defending on Saturday hoping to be able to attack on Sunday. The key figures in Maranello admitted this from the end of the shootout: the goal, in the race for the second place in the Constructors’ Championship, was to contain the damage to be more effective during the standard race, which awards the heavier points.

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished in fifth and eighth place, positions that earned a total of five points. Two less than Mercedes, extending their lead (though slightly) to +24. But having preserved an extra set of soft tires and witnessing the struggles of the W14 cars, especially Lewis Hamilton’s, gives the “men in red” hope. For now, the first part of the plan has gone as expected, and at 6:00 PM Italian time, we will see if the second phase of the strategy will be rewarding.

The protagonist of the Ferrari sprint race was undoubtedly Charles Leclerc, who gained two positions, including a valuable overtaking of Lewis Hamilton. Carlos, lagging behind at the start, managed to gain one position, securing a useful point. The team decided to partially sacrifice the Sprint result by betting on Sunday’s race, starting from the morning session when Charles chose not to use the only set of new Soft tires available in the final stage of the qualifying session.

The two SF-23 cars used used sets of red-banded Pirelli tires, and the fact that they lasted until the end is encouraging for the race because managing the tires of the Italian car is known to be challenging. Having an extra set will be a strategic advantage that Ferrari wants and needs to utilize to snatch points from Mercedes, which seemed to be in great difficulty yesterday.

Ferrari: Tire and Power Unit Management Key to the GP

Not that yesterday was a walk in the park for the representatives of the Prancing Horse. “During the Sprint, we had to struggle more than expected,” explained Carlos Sainz. “We had to manage engine temperatures and tires, which forced us to lift and coast a lot from the early stages of the race, which obviously affected our performance.”

“I’m confident that things will go better tomorrow, and I’ll be able to push harder with the car and tires and, therefore, regain some positions.” The issue of engine management is a recurring theme in our usual on-board analysis and could pose a tough challenge in the 71 laps scheduled for the Grand Prix.

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Charles Leclerc wanted to keep expectations low despite the advantage for Sunday. In fact, the Red car’s performance was not brilliant, and containing the damage to the W14 cars cannot be seen as a superlative result. “I expected something more if we compare ourselves to our direct competitors, which are currently the ones from Mercedes,” was the first comment from the always honest Monegasque.

“It wasn’t bad, but if we look at Red Bull and especially McLaren, I see that they have made a big step. They are better than us in the race on all tracks, and we need to find something in our package that we currently lack. We had trouble in the first part of the race because we had to manage engine temperatures. Tomorrow, starting in second place, we will have fewer cars in front, and hopefully, this can help us,” Charles Leclerc explained to Sky’s microphones.

The strong finish, with an overtaking of Lewis Hamilton who was clearly struggling with his tires, was built patiently in the initial part of the short race: “The feeling in the first laps was not bad. Knowing it was a long race, I managed the engine more in the beginning. Towards the end, I could push more. I have no doubts about the new soft tires for tomorrow. We saw Yuki Tsunoda’s race; he was behind me and had the same pace as us. You can see the benefit of running with new tires.”

“This makes me optimistic, but we have to be careful about what we say. I am confident, but I am not saying we will win. The goal for this weekend is to beat the Mercedes. Today, we could have done better by putting on a new tire in qualifying, but how much better? Maybe one position at most, so I think the choice we made was worth it.”

Ferrari, Brazil GP 2023: Two Mediums and One Soft to Soar

“For tomorrow, we will have two new sets of mediums and one of softs.” In these words of Frédéric Vasseur, the red hope for the race is summarized. “I hope it will be an advantage. We have brought home some points, and we also had a good Sprint. AlphaTauri had a set of new softs, and we will have the same advantage in the race. We were in the same situation as Mercedes, and our tire management was good compared to theirs.”

“Probably, in the race, we will have less tire wear than Mercedes. The start is always crucial because it’s much easier to run on a clear track than to fight in the middle of the group. When you push to fight, you damage the rear tires on traction, so there will be an opportunity to have a good race on a clear and clean track.”

“The hard tire is not a race tire: this means we have to manage soft and mediums well. This has led to some frustrating choices, but it’s the same for everyone. We focused on the race. It was a difficult choice, but I hope it brings advantages,” concluded the French manager.

Ferrari, which hasn’t always been perfect in terms of strategic choices this season, is betting everything on a potentially very rewarding tactic. When, after Austin, Fred Vasseur spoke about the need to be perfect and focused, he was referring to this. The lesson seems to have been learned, but the most severe judge, the track, will provide the final certification.