Ferrari is ready. Three weeks of hard work in the Maranello Racing Division. The goal is to quickly climb back up, keeping in mind that the 2023 Formula One campaign is already underway. Thinking of catching up to the solid Red Bull team is unrealistic, however, the need to overtake Mercedes and attack the surprising Aston Martin is evident. This is the possible scenario in which the Prancing Horse strongly believes ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend.
It certainly won’t be easy. After all, the other teams won’t just stand by. On the contrary, they will surely progress. But the Maranello team knows what to do and is doing it, although a certain “controlled commotion” is taking place at the organizational level. The departures of Mattia Binotto, David Sanchez and Laurent Mekies were necessary. It’s time for some fresh air. The team is waiting to bolster its ranks with fresh, British elements that can lift the fortunes of the Italian team.
Meanwhile, while waiting for undoubtedly more factual updates that will come in the next races, the technicians in red have presented some modifications to the SF-23. A new version of the rear wing will debut in Baku. The double swan-neck pillar is back for structural reasons, given the lower load installed for this specification.
The aim is to produce high top speeds at the end of straights, thus increasing the EOSS coefficient. To do this, there are two versions of the front wing present at the Baku City Circuit. The different incidences on the last flap added to the possible presence of a nolder, which is useful for increasing vertical thrust at the expense of a slight increase in resistance, was tested during FP1 to choose the best configuration capable of balancing the car.
Analysis of the onboard footage from the Italian website FUnoanalisitecnica after the first free practice session:
As expected, understeer is present on the SF-23 cars in Azerbaijan, exacerbated by the harder tires in the range. Some corrections are made to the braking for the red single-seaters, although from the first laps, the basic balance seems good. Some difficulty in taking the apex in turn 5. The internal combustion unit is currently in position 5. Carlos’ car then moves to maximum ICE power to test the engine. The same check for Charles.
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!
At the moment, DRS remains closed for another two laps. Therefore, data is being collected on the top speed in race configuration. The mobile wing is now open. They move on to Soc 3 to verify the performance of the hybrid system. There is some extra heat problem with the engine that is solved through lift and coast. The Spaniard arrives long before the castle, fortunately without consequences. He uses the escape route and resumes driving.
Ferrari race engineer Riccardo Adami asks the Spaniard to focus more on braking. He needs to brake later, in practice. The high-fuel simulation proceeds without any particular issues. We can confirm that the two SF-23s show good balance. In the last lap of the practice with fuel on board, they carry out various tests on overboost. Charles Leclerc opens the radio and asks for a change in the load that can be developed at the front for the next run. Pit stop practice and off to the garage, just as the red flag arrives due to Pierre Gasly’s engine problem.
The feedback from Ferrari drivers seems good at this stage. Undoubtedly, there will be small adjustments to the setup, but nothing major apparently. The race officials are now busy restoring normal track conditions and removing car number 10 from the track.
The session resumes. The Italian cars are still using the same Hard tires. Ferrari continues to collect data aimed at studying the setup. For the first lap, the Mode Race and DRS are off. The track engineers inform the drivers that after two laps in Engine 4, they will switch to maximum power to test the top speed in this configuration. The steering wheel of the Maranello single-seaters seems more stable than before.
Charles Leclerc also overshoots and uses the escape route before the castle. Like his teammate, he avoids contact with the barriers. Marcos asks to cool his overheating tires, recalling the Monegasque to the pits and then changing his mind. Charles is confused and asks for clarification. Xavi apologizes and confirms he will take the pit lane. Carlos Sainz is also called back to the garage.
The two Ferrari drivers install the new double-pylon rear wing configuration, which appears to be doing the job they hoped for. Flow viz is used on the Madrid driver’s specification to study the flow patterns at the rear. No comparative tests have been conducted in this regard. This leads us to believe that this configuration has been validated and will be adopted on both cars SF-23 for the rest of the Baku weekend, based on the data from the simulator.
After a short break, they return to the track. This time, the Pirelli tyres are in the red stripe for a fast lap test. The qualifying simulation proceeds positively. Despite low engine revolutions, the red tires show good balance. Charles receives positive comments, but Carlos cannot achieve a clean lap as desired.
The only free practice of the weekend comes to an end. Ultimately, there is a feeling that Ferrari has a clear idea of their competitiveness on a fast lap. For this reason, the drivers have focused more on studying the race pace by testing the low-load rear wing.
Leave a Reply