Despite high expectations during the winter, Ferrari started the season on a low note, only showing signs of improvement at the Azerbaijan GP. After a substantial package of updates introduced in Spain, the car seemed to be recovering, but over time, it revealed another side of its character: its behavior changes from track to track. While the SF-23 struggled to finish in the points at Silverstone, partly due to the strategy, Leclerc managed to start from pole and secure a podium finish at the Belgian GP. Frederic Vasseur tried to explain this phenomenon in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport.
“If you analyze the data, in qualifying, we are about 0.2% off the pace of Red Bull, sometimes 0.4%, but occasionally, we’ve done better than them. The delta in the race is much greater, so the entire difference shows up in race pace. This is the case for others too; just look at Mercedes. A logical explanation is that the Ferrari is hard to drive: on a single lap, you can take risks and push it to the limit, but in a race, that’s not possible, and performance drops. It’s an aerodynamic issue. In 2022, we were in a good place; we tried to improve even further over the winter, but it’s underestimated that pushing something to the extreme can sometimes complicate the driver’s life: when the car moves, it becomes unpredictable, and its downforce is inconsistent,” said the team principal.
Leave a Reply