Much to the displeasure of the fans, and even more of the Scuderia Ferrari drivers and insiders, the Maranello team did not start the 2023 Formula One season the way they wanted. The SF-23 car, which was praised so much in the winter, seems far below expectations, and in the course of the first three races the Italian side hasn’t collected even a podium finish which Charles Leclerc or Carlos Sainz.
During the April break, Scuderia Ferrari worked hard to try and bring various updates and improvements in view of the next rounds, with the hope not of attacking Red Bull, but at least of becoming second force ahead of Mercedes and Aston Martin.
The car we should expect in the next Grands Prix will not be a “version B” of the one seen so far. Team principal Frederic Vasseur has reiterated this several times during the last few weeks, and he also recalled it in a recent interview for the Formula One website, in which he offered some hints on what 2023 will be for the Maranello team. “I don’t think we’ll change our approach,” said the French manager. “I think updates will come all the time. Not in Baku, because it’s not easy with the Sprint Race format and the aerodynamic package required on that track, but in Miami, Imola and Barcelona there will be updates for each race. Also in Monaco, though, there won’t be any.” – the French manager pointed out.
The plan that Maranello wants to follow is to work on the current SF-23 to make it competitive. No concept changes, therefore, but only updates. The Ferrari team principal himself stated: “We are following the original plan, but we are making some adjustments regarding the balance and behaviour. The car was much better in Melbourne and we will continue in this direction. We will always bring updates on this car, and we will try to do it consistently” – he continued.
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“We feel, and I hope we will be right, that we have a lot of room to improve the car. Until we can develop the SF-23, gain aerodynamic points, get better balance and stability, I think it makes sense to push in this direction,” added the team principal.
As already repeated on other occasions, one of the problems of this development is the budget cap, as it prevents you from making a completely new project. “Doing a new project during the season, starting over … with the budget cap and wind tunnel restrictions that’s difficult, if not nearly impossible,” Frederic Vasseur said of his decision. Could this work be enough to reverse the situation of the Reds?
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