Is it a technical or human problem? Scuderia Ferrari must ask itself some questions after the Hungarian GP. Charles Leclerc in seventh and Carlos Sainz in eighth. The Italian side suffered another disappointment after the one in Silverstone. While the English track was not suitable for the SF-23, the Hungaroring should have been the ideal stage for the Maranello team, to the extent that even a pole position had been quietly mentioned among the objectives for the Budapest weekend.
In short, it was yet another disappointment in a 2023 Formula One season marked by many struggles and few satisfactions. However, the simulations that had prepared for the Hungarian trip had appeared positive, but between the virtual world and the reality of the Maranello team, there are evidently too many… dreams that do not match the harsh truth.
Fred Vasseur seemed less conciliatory than usual this time: “If we didn’t perform well, it means we haven’t worked well.” But the team principal, who acts with the typical pragmatism of the French people, must find an answer to our initial question: if the problem lies with the SF-23, then it makes no sense to spend money and energy developing it, dedicating all resources to the 2024 car. But, as Fred Vasseur implies, if the red car has the potential that is not being realized, it means that the mistakes lie with the people and their failure to understand how to put a car on the track that allows the drivers to perform at their best.
Therefore, structural changes must be made to avoid today’s problems being the same as tomorrow’s. In Budapest, we saw a pit stop error, the first of 2023: due to an issue with the left rear gun, Charles Leclerc’s pit stop took 9.7 seconds, and then he received a 5-second penalty for speeding at the pit lane entry. Even if we were to exclude this incident from the context of the Hungarian Grand Prix, we would find Charles Leclerc two positions ahead, and there would certainly be no reason to celebrate.
“We cannot afford all these mistakes if we want to be competitive,” says Fred Vasseur. “The pace wasn’t magical, but it wasn’t far from Lewis’s. But in these conditions, we cannot make any mistakes.”
True, but it’s easy to say that the “pace” shown during the stints was on par with McLaren and Mercedes, as if track position didn’t matter at all, when in fact, it determines the standings and earns points.
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Let’s take a step back and go back to qualifying: how is it possible that two Alfa Romeos without updates surrounded the best of the red cars? Did anyone in Maranello wonder why Guanyu Zhou and Valtteri Bottas sandwiched Charles Leclerc’s SF-23 in fifth and seventh place? We are talking about cars with the same engine 066/7, comparable in terms of chassis, suspensions, and aerodynamics. A top team against a customer team.
And this is where the frustration sets in, leaving us speechless. Because it feels like the problem is not just aerodynamic, as some may think, but also involves the rest of the car, which is too often considered competitive. The mechanical aspect, as demonstrated by Alfa Romeo, was just as crucial as aerodynamic downforce in Hungary.
Even the new Pirelli tires, introduced at Silverstone to increase durability after the current F1 cars had already reached the aerodynamic load they were supposed to have by the end of the 2023 Formula One season (supplying Pinocchio-worthy simulations?), probably need a slightly different approach to extract their maximum performance. Is it possible that even the (minimal) regulatory changes can disrupt Maranello’s puzzle? Can it be that a variation, seemingly compelled by Pirelli, never provides an advantage and always costs something to the Scuderia?
Could wind make the SF-23 undriveable? Since the beginning of the year, drivers have complained about aerodynamic instability, but the right remedy has not yet been found, as communication between the team and the track seems like a dialogue between the deaf. Simulations said that the red car could go for pole position (but what was the predicted time in Maranello to be ahead? And how different was it from Lewis Hamilton’s performance), prompting Leclerc to use overdrive in sector 3 when the tires were already depleted, and perhaps tire management was necessary. But if no one tells him by reading the data, he behaves as he knows, generously.
“We had simulations on our car,” said Charles, “we know we find ourselves slightly better on tracks like the Hungaroring, but we don’t have data from other cars, and some of them found themselves even better than us”…
It’s obvious that there is an underlying issue in the Racing Department: everything seems fine when it’s about completing the task, but as soon as something changes in the defined scenario, there’s a crisis. This is not the F1 approach. It’s impossible to think of winning again like this.
In the face-to-face meeting with Fred Vasseur in Maranello, Motorsport Italy got the feeling that the team is in a transition phase, and it’s likely that they have already taken some countermeasures, but the picture today is bleak because it reveals the weakness of figures that cannot handle the responsibilities they are given. Living in fear of making mistakes only leads to covering one’s back. And if job security is the priority, conservative choices, not courageous ones, will be the basis for decisions.
The biggest mistake one can make is to lump everything together: of course, not everything should be thrown away; there’s a lot of good work, but it’s not visible. Fred needs to remove the encrustations in the way of thinking and acting of several minds engulfed by systems and procedures. Loic Serra, Mercedes’ performance director, will bring new vitality and new ideas for the 2025 red car, as the Frenchman will have to deal with a long gardening that has not yet begun.
Enrico Cardile, who will meanwhile receive the role of technical director, cannot be left alone in this delicate phase: the project for Ferrari next year is underway and needs reinforcements. Especially since the 2023 Formula One season has only reached its midpoint…
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