Ferrari unfulfilled promises: why SF-23 was fast in qualifying but lost out in race pace

Once upon a time, there was the Ferrari SF-23. It was red with the Prancing Horse printed on the chassis. Expectations for this car were sky-high. As the legitimate successor of the still good F1-75, the new Italian race car was supposed to effortlessly showcase hyper-sonic speeds. This was the belief of Benedetto Vigna, one of the many individuals privileged to be associated with the red team but who, apparently, failed to seize the opportunity properly.

The SF-23, as mentioned, a car registered for the 2023 edition of the Formula 1 World Championship. Making a cameo appearance was certainly not in the plans of the Maranello team, but in the end, when the scores were tallied, calling things by their name, the drubbing handed out by Red Bull will remain in the annals of the top tier of motorsports. A lesson in “sporting life” like no other. A crushing dominance that ridiculed the competitors, including Ferrari.

Mattia Binotto is no longer there but continues to do more damage than hail. This seems to be the general thought among Ferrari fans since, until proven otherwise, incontrovertible as it is, the SF-23 was born under his failed mandate. For this reason, can the current management be blamed or held responsible? In a sense, no. We know that overturning a flawed project like the 675 is not possible under the sinister axe of the budget cap. However, a thought on the matter comes to mind.

Yes, because even though things couldn’t change radically, at least a factual learning curve could have produced different results. Are there excuses? Perhaps. After all, losing “technical pieces” at the beginning of the season and having to survive within a performance context with reduced resources was not that simple. So what remains to be said? Many things, undoubtedly. Let’s try to do it with the utmost brevity, so as not to steal too much life from the reader.

Ferrari SF-23: the “hyper-sonic characteristics” of the 675 project

The Ferrari SF-23 has shown to be quite good at losing. Let’s be clear… the efforts made throughout the season were commendable. But in F1, just like in life, only one thing matters: performance and the resulting outcomes. On this point, we can say that the SF-23 threw many tantrums, starting from the first outing on the track that crushed the morale of the drivers.

A car difficult to understand. At times almost absurd because it was capable of amazing things in qualifying only to miserably sink in the race. A technical condition that starts from erroneous basics. A weak front suspension that prejudiced the rest of the car, which perhaps wasn’t so bad after all. An unstable aerodynamic load partly corrected from Spain onwards, with a new, more factual vortex structure but not entirely accurate.

A dynamic department that forged a “arrow-shaped” rear suspension scheme, copied from Red Bull, capable of providing beastly traction to the red car but, at the same time, unable to properly manage the tire covers. The tires, those. A five-letter word that always plays a crucial role in F1. A dark evil, their management, which has afflicted Ferrari for a long time, and progress shown is always too little.

An overflowing power unit, the best in terms of nominal power, as we’ve been told, but it didn’t demonstrate the required reliability. This, in summary, is the technical picture that gave rise to the results obtained in this racing campaign. But obviously, beyond the mere work of engineers and technicians related to the goodness of their ideas conceived on paper, there is also the administration of cognitive abilities expressed through the aero-mechanical work put on the track for 22 Sundays.

Ferrari SF-23: The “curious” administration of the 675 project favors Mercedes’ supremacy

To manage one’s resources best, the most important thing is to know oneself. Understand and face one’s limits. Study them and then correct them, perhaps by copying from those who, unlike you, have shown they can do it without too much hesitation. And yet it seems that in Via Abetone Inferiore 4, such a scenario has not occupied thoughts enough. Or, if contrary to what has been said it has, it is evident that a solution to the “administration headache” has not made an appearance.

The mature fruit of this condition has made it so, for example, Mercedes was able to precede Ferrari in the constructor’s standings. And patience if they will earn less money, the least of Ferrari’s problems. Indeed, if we want to tell the whole story, finishing third will mean having more time to spend between CFD and the wind tunnel, two tools that are always very useful even during the season and not just in the design phase.

The fact is that the W14 turned inside out like a sock beat the SF-23, and that’s not good. Is it a matter of principle? Yes, it is. It shouldn’t have happened, considering that the Brackley team, like in 2022, once again “bluffed” the technical project, believing again in the fantastic promises of the “zero pod” setup, fantastic on paper but totally unmanageable on the track.

The picture that paints on the canvas of the 2023 championship, “the red behind the black,” strongly emphasizes a concept: the prerogative to maximize resources, a fundamental characteristic in F1, is a practice where Mercedes knows decidedly more. We knew this well, and over the last few months, we have had further confirmation, unfortunately.

In other words, misguided and hopeful strategies, often born from thoughts contaminated by fear, have made Ferrari more of a loser than it could have been. Ferrari: let’s leave Vigna-style promises on the SF-23 to politicians. The topic of drivers cannot be overlooked. Ferrari sees its steering wheels held by two young, spirited, and talented guys. The Monegasque’s talent is superior, granted, but the Iberian’s certainly does not lag behind. Yet, they have repeatedly made a bad impression, often “forced” to control an unmanageable car. Then, when the SF-23 finally decided to be more malleable, technical deficiencies still dimmed the spirits of its champions.

The “two Carlos” have renewed. Extending their contract is not just a gesture of love. On the other hand, the millions of euros that will pour into the pockets of the drivers convince much more than a thousand words. But it’s also true that perhaps there was some other conceivable solution. Useless conjectures aside, the fact remains that the two will continue to rest on the red and undoubtedly, this is a great thing.

In all of this, a clarification must certainly be made in view of the next year: one must absolutely not promise Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz a winning car for the 2024 season. It should not be done, even if the simulator predictions are phenomenal. It’s better to start “low-profile,” even low to the ground if possible. Don’t deceive anyone, in short. Leave election campaigns to politicians who may need them more.