The Canadian Grand Prix could become the most important stage in Ferrari’s 2023 season, the turning point race, the one that changed the scenario. The conditional is a must for two reasons, linked to the necessary confirmation on a different type of track than the Montreal circuit, and to the necessary prudence when talking about the SF-23, until now an object with a high rate of unpredictability.
However, what we saw on the Gilles Villeneuve track was a clear message, and paradoxically Ferrari managed to convert the tenth and eleventh positions on the starting grid into fourth and fifth under the checkered flag, making the difference on two fronts which until the last race had been the subject of critical issues: tire management and strategies.
Frederic Vasseur, Ferrari Team Principal, with the vice president of the Cavallino, Piero Ferrari
Photo by: Ferrari
The smiles seen at the end of the race on the faces of Leclerc, Sainz, Vasseur and a bit of the whole team obviously don’t refer to the stage loot, but rather to having found that direction lost in the first third of the season.
The twenty-two points from Montreal are not to be thrown away, but it is above all the perspective with which we can look at the next races that has brought a boost of confidence. Until now the two SF-23s had been ‘fine on Saturday’ only to run aground twenty-four hours later, in Montreal it was the reverse. There is still a weekend in which to evaluate the combination of the two positive aspects, a weekend that Ferrari hopes to be able to put together very soon.
One of the most striking aspects of the Montreal Grand Prix was the safety with which the Scuderia’s ‘wall’ acted during the twelfth lap of the race, when George Russell’s impact against a barrier caused him to enter the safety car track.
Ferrari SF-23: repaired Leclerc’s board before the start
Photo by: George Piola
All the drivers who started on medium tires returned to the pits for the pit stop, Leclerc and Sainz did not. “We wanted to leave Carlos and Charles on the track to allow them to ride on a clear track”, Vasseur explained after the race, and in fact when the race resumed the times of the two Ferraris were confirmed as fast despite having managed 40 laps with the set of tires mounted at the start.
A courageous strategy but one that turned out to be perfect, because it allowed both Ferrari drivers to climb all the way back to just below the podium. Another positive aspect emerged with the dreaded hard tyres. The harder compound (of the weekend) had been a source of major problems in the Spanish Grand Prix especially for Leclerc, while it worked very well today in Montreal.
“It was important to see that in the second part of the race our riders lapped at the same times as the top three in the standings – commented Vasseur – we are progressing race after race: we will continue to focus on ourselves, work hard in the direction we have identified and take even more care of every detail to have a perfect weekend from Friday to Sunday”.
Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
At the end of the race, Leclerc, almost afraid to crack a smile, defined his race as the best in this first part of the season, referring to the single-seater’s performance. Vasseur also announced technical developments in view of the upcoming races, adding fuel to a fire that has suddenly revived.
However, everything is communicated almost in a whisper, the fear of raising the bar of expectations too much is still common among the men of the Scuderia, and probably rightly so. However, the sensation of a breath of fresh air breathed in deeply is undeniable, as is the impression that at the end of the championship the Ferrari season will be divided between a ‘pre’ and a ‘post’ Canada.
#Ferrari #breath #fresh #air #path