It has been a long year for Ferrari fans: after the disappointments of 2022, changes in internal hierarchies, and the promises made during the winter, there were high expectations for the SF-23. However, the Bahrain GP quickly dashed those hopes. But behind the Red Bulls, the battle for second place in the Constructors’ Championship has always been intense, with four different teams vying for the title of “best of the rest.” And although the Prancing Horse seemed to have slightly less than its rivals, it was ultimately the one to break the winning streak of the Milton Keynes team, with a journey to the top that began after the summer break.
The steps for this turnaround are accurately described by the Italian daily newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport: “First of all, the car has been able to manage the tires, which is by no means a given. In Singapore, Ferrari was able to run very low despite the inevitable undulations typical of street circuits. The result was an admirable balance between the front and rear, thus significantly reducing weight transfer. The Reds slide less than in the past and less than their competitors, which allowed tire preservation like we hadn’t seen this year. However, the degradation issue has only been partially resolved, about 60/65%.”
“Suzuka is the ideal test ground”
What gave hope to fans is that the SF-23 performed well on two completely different types of tracks, Marina Bay and the Monza circuit, when earlier in the year, performances were more inconsistent. However, Filisetti and Salvini write that nothing has changed in the car during these two weeks. Instead, according to Frederic Vasseur’s words, it was the Dutch GP that allowed the team to understand more about setups, combined with Carlos Sainz’s outstanding work. To celebrate, though, one must wait for the next race. “The Suzuka track is one of the most complete, with alternating slow and fast sections. It’s, therefore, the ideal litmus test. If Ferrari is competitive there, and the differences between Monza and Singapore suggest it could be, then we’ll enjoy the season until the end,” write the journalists.
The sports daily then conducted an investigation into the Milton Keynes constructors, who showed vulnerabilities in Singapore for the first time since the beginning of the year. But this defeat does not suggest a lasting crisis. “Red Bull struggled with the undulations of the track. Due to this and perhaps also the changes imposed by the new directive on wing flexibility, they were forced to raise the RB-19 off the ground. It’s hard not to think it was a bizarre one-off. The Suzuka weekend will also tell us this. In general, there’s no need to fantasize about a championship without the team: as long as it’s more human, like in Marina Bay, this would be one of the most exciting Formula 1 seasons,” say the experts.
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