It was a qualifying session with two different outcomes for the Scuderia Ferrari at the 2023 F1 Spanish Grand Prix. With significant developments introduced on the SF-23 single-seater, expectations were high for the team from Maranello. These expectations were aimed at achieving an important result to assess any progress made in terms of performance.
However, the overall assessment for the Maranello team after the qualifying session in Catalonia cannot be entirely satisfying. On one hand, Carlos Sainz managed to secure the second position behind the unbeatable Max Verstappen’s Red Bull (although half a second adrift). On the other hand, Charles Leclerc had a disastrous day and could only manage nineteenth place due to an unexplainable issue with his car during Q1.
Thus, Ferrari emerges from the Spanish qualifying session with the awareness that the introduced upgrades, while not miraculous, have worked well enough (at least to get closer to Red Bull). However, there are also many doubts surrounding Charles Leclerc’s issue. It will inevitably be necessary to investigate whether it was a result of a technical problem (the most likely hypothesis) with his car or if it was due to poor performance of the developments on car number 16, or even a poor adaptation of the Monegasque driver to the evolved SF-23.
It was a challenging day for the Prancing Horse, as analyzed by Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur in an interview with Sky Sport F1 after the qualifying session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. Firstly, the Frenchman discussed the qualifying session in general, which was characterized by mixed feelings due to the Maranello team’s contrasting results.
“We have mixed feelings. We have a car on the front row, Carlos had the best qualifying of the year, and it’s a big step forward for us. The factory has been working hard in recent weeks, and this is a reward for us and for him. It was a tough day for Charles. We did a good job with Carlos leading. We need to understand what happened with Charles.” – the French manager pointed out.
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Fred then analyzed Charles Leclerc‘s disappointing qualifying session, which ended in P19, probably due to some issues with his SF-23 single-seater.
“After qualifying, Charles complained about the behavior of the car in left turns. We haven’t understood what it is yet; we need to figure it out. I don’t know what happened, but I believe something broke. I trust Charles’ feelings.”
There couldn’t be a lack of comment on the developments that, according to Frederic Vasseur, have worked and allowed the engineers to explore new development directions: “I’m satisfied with the upgrades, both for today and for opening up new development directions, which is positive.”
After putting qualifying behind them, the number one in the Ferrari pit wall spoke optimistically about the race. The Grand Prix will likely take place on a track with different conditions compared to today and even the second free practice session in Barcelona.
“On Friday, it was hot, the track was hot, while today the track was damp. We need to understand the data. Yesterday we worked well, but the race is tomorrow, and it will be a different story. We’ll see where we stand, but I’m optimistic.” – he continued.
Returning briefly to the topic of developments, Frederic Vasseur announced that more significant updates will arrive in the upcoming races: “This track helps us understand the developments; it has a nice mix of corners. If you’re fast here, you’re fast anywhere, but we still need to work and bring updates. We’ll have more pieces very soon.” – the Ferrari boss concluded.
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