Fiorano is not the Red Bull Ring, that’s clear. So there is no need to delude yourself too much about the indications that emerged from yesterday’s Fiming Day. Ferrari took advantage of the 100 km destined for commercial filming to also try on the dress in which the SF-23 will show up at Spielberg over the weekend.
The Cavallino home circuit with its low speed is not significant for a comparison with the fast venue of the Austrian GP, but the occasion was useful to look for a data correlation between the red Evo in the standard version (seen in the GP of Spain and Canada) and the single-seater equipped with the new aerodynamic package and more. But it’s clear that the tires were the demo ones, so there’s no need to talk about performance, just information gathering.
Comparison of old and new Ferrari fund
Photo by: Gianluca D’Alessandro
We have written that the Scuderia has adopted an attack strategy, deciding to anticipate solutions that had to be diluted until the Italian GP at Monza: Fred Vasseur and the technicians headed by Enrico Cardile have approved an action plan which envisages shooting all the cartridges of development within the summer break, to see if this single-seater is able to extract the potential that has remained hidden until now.
In an interesting interview with Corriere della Sera, the French team principal explained: “The simulations had underestimated some negative aspects of the car’s behaviour. So we were forced to find a compromise between performance and driveability. Now the sensations are good because I’m starting to see progress. Winning must be the goal”.
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-23 at Fiorano
Photo by: David Cavazza
And on its home track a little at a time during the day the SF-23 introduced the new products which were then shipped to Austria: engine hood, front wing and bottom. The Fiorano analyzes on Fiorano are positive, but the data must be taken with a grain of salt: the numbers show that there is an improvement in the package, but confirmation from the Red Bull Ring is needed to be sure that we have finally taken the right path in understanding a more difficult car than expected…
Vasseur confirmed the hiring of a top coach for 2025, but did not want to name names, confirming his full trust in Enrico Cardile in the meantime: “I trust him, but let’s remember that reinforcements must arrive in every department. I’m pushing to get people from outside the Ferrari world who bring knowledge from outside”.
Cardile, therefore, is also the technical director of the 2024 single-seater: there will be continuity in a project that is constantly evolving: “We have to grow faster than the others. It’s time to accelerate and that’s why we hire and invest in the future.”
The Frenchman looks ahead, admitting that the most difficult thing has been “…moving the staff from one job to another to reorganize the structure”. But the team principal doesn’t want to buy time, he has ambitious goals right away: “If we had started up front in Montreal it would have been possible to fight for the win. Let’s see if we’ll be able to do it in Austria.”
The aerodynamic package seen at Fiorano, together with the different management of the electric power of the hybrid, are novelties that raise some smiles in Maranello. In Styria there will be the second appointment on the calendar with the Sprint race and there will be only one free practice session before qualifying.
Some observers have defined the Prancing Horse’s attitude as bordering on the spirit of the regulation in the use of the innovations during the Filming Day. Ferrari has not circumvented any written rule (there was an FIA observer at Fiorano who otherwise would have intervened), but it is right that the team from Maranello take advantage of every opportunity given to get back on top. Already in the tire tests in Barcelona it was understood that a waltz on the track is worth more than many simulations. And, then, music maestro…
#Ferrari #Fiorano #innovations #promoted #reservations