It was a complex weekend for Ferrari at the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago. The Maranello team arrived with high expectations and confidence of performing well, aiming to reclaim their position as the second strongest team behind Red Bull. These expectations were fueled by the introduction of the first seasonal updates on the SF-23, which were supposed to provide a significant improvement in performance and, above all, in tire management.
However, despite this, the Ferrari cars did not shine at the Montmelo circuit and once again faced tire issues (with all available compounds), which affected their race results. Carlos Sainz finished in fifth position, while Charles Leclerc came in eleventh, with a gap of more than 45 seconds behind Red Bull. This race seemed to confirm the failure of the SF-23 ‘evo’.
The Ferrari team is determined to leave this failure behind starting from the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend. They plan to leverage the characteristics of the Canadian circuit, historically favorable to Ferrari, and continue to understand and improve the SF-23. However, the weekend did not start on a positive note, as the first free practice session at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit in Montreal could not take place due to technical problems with the circuit’s camera system.
Frédéric Vasseur, the team principal of Ferrari, commented on this significant loss for the Maranello team (and for all the other teams), when interviewed by Sky Sport F1.
“It’s the same loss for everyone. In the past, we’ve had sessions affected by rain. It’s a pity that we couldn’t follow our planned program.”
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Speaking about their objectives for this weekend in Canada, the French manager emphasized the importance of starting at the front with a good qualifying session, which would lead to a smoother race. Despite the challenges, the SF-23 needs to strive for and achieve consistency.
“We were fast in qualifying in Spain, and we need to capitalize on that. On Saturday, we need to achieve a good result to have an easier Sunday. We are working towards this goal, although we couldn’t conduct the planned long runs. With a longer second free practice session, we will be able to test different tire compounds.”
As a final remark, the Ferrari team boss confirmed that the checks conducted on Charles Leclerc’s car (following the unusual qualifying session at the Spanish GP) did not reveal any damage or malfunctions.
“It was difficult to assess, but it didn’t go badly in the race. It’s in the past now, and we are focusing on the future.” – the Ferrari boss concluded.
