The SF-23 is a short blanket. No matter how much they try to compensate for its shortcomings in Maranello, there always seems to be a deficiency, whether it’s the pace, tire management, excessive sensitivity to the wind, and so on. At the end of the seventy laps of the Hungarian Grand Prix, the classification shows Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in seventh and eighth positions, respectively, and the final result justifies the sad faces seen during the Hungarian evening.
The time difference (i.e., 70 seconds behind Max Verstappen, 27 seconds behind Lando Norris, and 21 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton) needs to be recalibrated due to two unexpected events, a problem with a wheel gun during the first pit stop, which cost Charles seven seconds, and the five-second penalty that the Monegasque had to serve for exceeding the speed limit in the pit lane.
Without the penalties, Charles Leclerc could have realistically finished his race in fifth place, one position higher than his starting grid position. It would have been better, of course, but still not a result in line with the expectations before the weekend.
The major problem for Ferrari is to evaluate these results in perspective. At the midpoint of a challenging season, the Scuderia continues to navigate between some races that sparked hopes of a potential second-place role and performances (like the one seen today in Budapest) that make it difficult to imagine a better second half of the 2023 Formula One season and a clear direction for next year’s project.
Carlos Sainz, always very precise in his analysis, explained the problems he had to face in his race, which started with a great start where he capitalized on the (successful) choice of starting with soft tires. “When we have to face long stints with hard compounds, we degrade more compared to Mercedes, Red Bull, and even McLaren, and this is the condition that highlights our weaknesses. In a thirty-lap stint, the problem lies in the last ten laps. Today, we saw that in the end, George Russell was one and a half seconds faster, and this gap doesn’t allow us to defend ourselves.” – the Spaniard pointed out.
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Charles Leclerc, who had communication issues via radio with his engineer throughout the race, had some recriminations at the end of the race due to the unexpected events that cost him two positions, but the Monegasque driver emphasized that it wasn’t all bad. “It’s frustrating because overall the feeling I had in the car wasn’t bad, but if mistakes are made, everything disappears. I believe that now it’s up to us to take a step forward like McLaren did; at the moment, we are at a disadvantage, which has been confirmed in the last three race weekends, so there is still a lot of work to do. But honestly, I think today’s result doesn’t fully represent what we did. The first stint was quite good, then we had the slow pit stop that really put us in difficulty because I came back on track behind Lance Stroll and had to push a lot. Finally, in the third stint, I found a good rhythm, and the car was going quite well. So yes, it seems to me that the result is worse than what our race actually was, but it’s also clear that, especially compared to Lando, we are still behind.” – the Monegasque pointed out.
Beyond constructive and positive approaches (appreciable), there is an aspect that overshadows everything. Ferrari needs to send positive signals, show growth, maybe slow, but ongoing, and that’s what was missing between Great Britain and Hungary, races where the results (an indisputable factor) certified a step backward.
“Suddenly, both in Silverstone and on the Hungaroring, we found ourselves a bit behind, where we were at the beginning of the year,” admitted Carlos Sainz, and it’s a common feeling. No one expects to see the SF-23 winning races; this aspect has now been accepted even by the most fervent Ferrari fans. But it becomes essential to put something in black and white that we can even imagine for a better future, which means 2024. What we saw in Budapest does not allow it, and it’s not just a matter of points in the standings but problems that struggle to find a solution, like the crucial tire management.
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