The 2023 Formula One season wasn’t the year that Maranello hoped to experience. While there was a victory and several pole positions, the gap with Red Bull proved to be too wide, evident from the Bahrain tests with a comeback that started from afar, leading the Scuderia to contend for second place in the constructors’ standings.
The season that has just ended was also a transition period between the Mattia Binotto era and the Frderoc Vasseur era. This aspect seemed to be one of the main excuses to justify the SF-23’s lack of competitiveness. Mattia Binotto had dedicated a significant amount of time to the 2023 project with the goal of competing for the title after a 2022 Formula One season that, at least initially, showed signs of promise, with Charles Leclerc securing two race victories from the first three rounds, in Australia and Bahrain.
Predictions about the latest car to come out of Maranello’s gates were not met, and the team led by Fred Vasseur had to settle for a third-place finish in the constructors’ standings.
Nevertheless, the 2024 Formula 1 must represent a turning point for the Scuderia, forced to chase the title for more than fifteen years. Based on what was seen in the second part of the season, it seems that Ferrari’s engineers have understood some of the issues with the SF-23, as the latest updates have restored competitiveness to the car.
Therefore, we expect that Project 676 can address the weaknesses of the SF-23, with the hope of at least getting closer to a Red Bull that appeared unbeatable throughout the season. Also, because one year after Mattia Binotto’s departure from Ferrari, there would be very few excuses to cling to the following Formula 1 campaign.
Source: f1ingenerale
