The Lusail circuit is a long sequence of high-speed, wide-radius corners connected by a single straight at the starting grid. This Qatari track places less emphasis on aerodynamic efficiency and instead rewards qualities of downforce and stability. Ferrari is reverting to the high downforce package, the same one that had caused numerous problems during the summer and on which the Prancing Horse has conducted dedicated studies.
Summer Problems
In the first half of the season, the SF-23 appeared as an unstable car in long-radius corners, a problem exacerbated in the high downforce configuration. In Budapest, Ferrari endured one of its worst races of the season, despite the belief in Maranello that the Hungarian circuit should suit the car’s characteristics. In Zandvoort, the problems with the high downforce package were confirmed, to the point that the team decided to use medium downforce wings, used at Silverstone, much to the surprise of many.
From Singapore to Qatar
Ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz talked about the team’s improved understanding of the high downforce package: “We’ve learned some very interesting things about how our car behaves on these kinds of circuits and what our high downforce wings are doing. There are still cases where they don’t work as we’d like, and that’s why we change our race packages from race to race.” In the Asian city-state, Ferrari returned to using the high downforce package. However, the feedback was limited, given the low speeds of the city track and the predominantly 90-degree corners, where the SF-23 has historically performed well.
Source: Carlo Platella for formulapassion
Japan represented an initial test for the Scuderia. Although they were the third force and far behind Red Bull and McLaren, at Suzuka, the Italian side showed more stability on the long-radius corners. However, the emphasis on top speed on the long straights discouraged the use of the high downforce package. Nevertheless, this package has reappeared on the Ferrari in Lusail, both for the rear wing and the cascade beam-wing. The Qatar Grand Prix, therefore, represents an important test for the progress of the Prancing Horse in terms of difficulties, but unfortunately the nervousness displayed by the SF-23 on Friday in Lusail doesn’t leave much room for optimism among the fans.
Source: Carlo Platella for formulapassion
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