The eyes of fans, engineers, and experts were focused during Friday’s free practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix on the updates introduced by Scuderia Ferrari. Finally, at the eighth round of the 2023 championship, the engineers from Maranello brought new components to the SF-23 after realizing that the risks taken in the project only resulted in underperforming on the track. As usual, Giorgio Piola’s analysis didn’t keep us waiting, as he guides us through the changes of the Red car in two articles posted by the Italian version of the Motorsport website.
What immediately catches the eye on the race car are the sidepods inspired by those of Red Bull. As emphasized by the designer, this configuration allows for a downwash, directing the airflow towards the lower part of the vehicle. This philosophy is the opposite of the inwash achieved with the car at the beginning of the year, where the flows were directed towards the center of the car. However, part of the old thinking remains in the central part of the sidepod.
With the disappearance of the upper bays, the radiators have also been relocated, particularly to the sides of the engine cover. In this way, through the ever-present S-ducts, the idea is to direct the hot air losses upward. Additionally, these engine vents are inclined forward and distributed asymmetrically: there are seven on the left side and three on the right side. This arrangement obviously reflects the internal needs of the race car.
In addition to these major changes, there have been other less visible alterations on the SF-23, such as the halo profiles, the wings around the cockpit, and the mirror covers. However, the rear suspension, whose news had been circulating for some time, was rejected by Charles Leclerc himself during testing on the simulator. For the final judgment of the components, we leave it to the track, although in the first free practice session, the drivers of the Prancing Horse found themselves quite far behind the leader Max Verstappen, also due to his relentless pace. From FP2, however, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc maintained race pace similar to that of the two-time Formula 1 champion at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.
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