“For Australia we took a different direction for development and I think it worked.” Words from Frederic Vasseur, who in the last press conference said a lot about Ferrari’s plans to get back on track. More than a world title that appears unrealistic, at least in the short term, the minimum objective is to take the right technical direction, to get closer by the end of the season and put pressure on our rivals in view of next year. The reversal of development, however, for the moment does not yet concern the shapes of the bodywork. Ferrari decided not to convert to Red Bull’s pot-bellied concept, continuing with the wide and tall bodywork of the F1-75 and SF-23. This is because, after the first two championship races spent formulating theories and carrying out various set-up tests on the track, something has changed. From Australia, the Prancing Horse expresses confidence in declaring that it has identified the car’s problems, the first cornerstone from which to plan a development strategy and restart.
Balancing before performance
Ferrari believes that at the moment the main problem of the SF-23 is not aerodynamic efficiency, i.e. the ratio between load and drag. In Maranello, in fact, it is thought that the maximum performance of the Red Bull, seen above all in qualifying, is not too far from Red Bull, with the internal impression of always having the potential to fight for pole position. Qualifying in Australia would have been an anomaly due to human errors on the pit wall and the drivers, which deprived Ferrari of what could have been another front row after Leclerc’s second place on Saturday in Jeddah, later nullified by the penalty on the grid, and third in qualifying for Bahrain.
The problem of the SF-23 would therefore not be its maximum potential, but rather the inability to make the most of it and express the same performance in all conditions. Between Bahrain and Jeddah it was evident how in the race, with a full tank of fuel and especially with the harder and more worn tyres, the Red was much less competitive than in qualifying. The difficulty, as always, lies in finding a good balance, preventing the car from excessively oversteering or understeering when cornering and that this behavior changes according to the type of corner. The SF-23’s ‘short deck’ meant that, on a high-speed kink track such as Jeddah, the car was excessively oversteering and jumpy. Oversteer is loved by many drivers, including Leclerc and Verstappen, but if excessive, it becomes difficult to push the car to the limit for over fifty laps of the race. This is the impression that emerges from Vasseur’s words: “If you have a car too nervous, in qualifying you manage it in just one lap with new tyres, but over the course of the race it’s more difficult. In the last two races we have worked in this direction”.
Ferrari is currently working on the mechanical set-up of the suspension to act on aerodynamics. This means adjusting the static ground clearance and the stiffness of the springs and shock absorbers differently, so as to check how the distance from the ground and the inclination of the car body change when cornering, braking and at various speeds. In other words, in Maranello we try to keep the bottom in such a position as to shift the aerodynamic balance of the SF-23 towards the rear, in search of greater stability. With this objective in mind, the next updates arriving on the Ferrari between Miami, Imola and Barcelona will also be born in Maranello, which will not distort the shapes of the current SF-23. “We will of aerodynamic balance adjustments, which was much better in Australia and we will continue in this direction. It won’t be a B car, the developments won’t be something radically different”Vasseur’s words.
Development beyond updates
In Formula 1 we tend to forget how updates, intended as new parts, are not everything in the development of a car. Categories in which updates to the cars are few or completely forbidden, such as the WEC or IndyCar, demonstrate how by fully understanding the car and working on the set-ups it is still possible to find tenths if not seconds per lap. The development also does not necessarily aim to improve the absolute performance, but also to extend the window of use of the car, i.e. that set of conditions in which the car is able to perform at its best. That’s exactly what Ferrari is trying to do with the SF-23, trying to make it more consistent.
The new fund, tested in Jeddah and then used in Melbourne, goes precisely in this direction. The slightly raised outer edge at the rear suggests the desire for more constant aerodynamic behaviour, which does not suffer too much from the rotations and the approach to the ground while driving. However, work is also being done in Maranello for an SF-23 that is less sensitive to external conditions, including asphalt temperature and wind. It is no coincidence that Vasseur indicates in the stage of Baku an important verification of the new development philosophy, given that between the buildings of the Azerbaijani city the wind continuously changes direction and intensity: “We’re looking for something more substantial and it seems we succeeded. I will have confirmation of this in Baku”.
Change of concept: it’s still too early
Ferrari believes the SF-23’s main problem is too narrow a window of use, with a car too sensitive to conditions to always deliver the good performance it is believed capable of. The picture is diametrically opposed to that of Mercedes, which for months now has been aware that the narrow-bellied concept of the W14 prevents it from finding the load it needs instead. While the house of the Star thinks that a change of concept is essential, in Maranello they are confident that the philosophy of the SF-23 still has room for growth. “We believe we have lots of room for improvement from the machine”, continues Vasseur. “Until we can develop the car to find load points, improve balance and stability, it makes sense for us to push in this direction.”
For the moment, therefore, Ferrari continues on its path, until it is thought that the SF-23 can continue to grow. Overturning the concept without the certainty of a clear improvement compared to the current philosophy, of which Mercedes is convinced, would be counterproductive for a threefold reason. In fact, it would force the Cavallino to start from scratch, with little expertise on a concept developed for over a year by its rivals; with the lower cone protecting the cockpit not integrated into the bottom, it would be impossible to flare the belly like Red Bull; it would make it necessary to redo the frame for 2024, with no option to choose whether to reuse the 2023 one instead to save money from the budget cap. The plan at Ferrari is therefore to continue the development of the SF-23, to then evaluate its potential in perspective in the middle of the season and possibly decide whether to continue the concept also in 2024 or definitively adapt to Red Bull. Everything finds the perfect synthesis in the words of Vasseur: “We will be bringing updates throughout the year and we will then evaluate whether to continue to evolve this concept or if we have to drastically change direction for next year”.
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