The Emilia Romagna GP which will take place in Imola on May 21st will not only represent the opening race of the European season, but the sixth round of the 2023 championship will take on an important value in the world championship economy because Ferrari should make its debut in the SF- 23 revised and corrected.
The Scuderia has launched a chrono-program that will lead to fielding the revised and corrected red at Enzo and Dino Ferrari, to face the rest of the season with the hope of challenging not so much the Red Bull RB19, but hoping to establish itself as the second strength, today occupied with merit by Aston Martin.
It is curious to note that Mercedes is also counting on putting the W14 Evo on the track at Imola, which has been talked about so much, so the Emilian race risks becoming a significant hub of the world championship.
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-23
Photo by: Ferrari
The initial plan was to arrive with the modifications in time for the Azerbaijan GP, after the three-week layoff following this weekend’s race in Australia, but making the new parts requires a longer construction phase, for where the real Cavallino championship will start on the banks of the Santerno.
The interventions that the technical director, Enrico Cardile, has launched touch various aspects of the single-seater: we knew of a new foundation and we had already talked about a rear suspension which should be aimed at greater control of the height from the ground thanks to a anti-squat in acceleration, but the SF-23 is also destined to change the shapes, so let’s expect an intervention on the bellies.
Not that we go in the direction of the Red Bull RB19 and the sloping sides, but certainly the design that made the red unique will not remain. The goal is to make the Ferrari work at the right minimum height from the ground that is in line with that measured in the wind tunnel: the Cavallino technicians had concentrated a lot on research into aerodynamic efficiency, to reduce drag, but they have not given due consideration to porpoising.
The hopping at certain speeds requires that the bottom of the red be lifted off the ground to prevent it from being damaged by touching curbs and asphalt, for which a harmful loss of downforce is recorded. With less vertical force, the energy that is introduced to the tires is also reduced and the result is unplanned wear of the tires that work in too narrow an operating window.
Ferrari, therefore, decided to change the development plans of the SF-23 which were to be spread over the course of the season, with constant updates, preferring to dip into the wallet to start the evolution of the red which will gobble up most of the resources granted by the budget cap.
We shouldn’t be surprised: it’s a move that tries to save a championship after a very slow start in both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. In Maranello they remain convinced that the potential of the car is decidedly higher than what we have seen so far, which is why the interventions are functional to enhance the “hidden” qualities of the red.
Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal of Scuderia Ferrari
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Fred Vasseur has not initiated the purges requested from outside, but has launched a recovery plan: he has appointed the figure who has taken the place of David Sanchez in the role of Head of Vehicle Concept. This is an internal promotion and he is said to be a trusted Italian engineer. Together with Enrico Cardile and the head of aerodynamics, Diego Tondi, it will be up to this tricolor triangle to find the keys to relaunching Ferrari’s fortunes.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Photo by: Ferrari
In the meantime, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will have to play defense: in Melbourne there will be some news resulting from the enormous amount of data that has been analyzed after the first two GPs. What has gone to the antipodes is a fearful Ferrari, not yet aware of its limits, but it is also a team that does not start out defeated a priori.
Already in Friday’s free practice we will understand how things will stand: if from the first laps we understand a good adaptation of the SF-23 to the citizen of Melbourne, we can hope for a less difficult weekend than in Jeddah (where Ferrari was fourth force!) otherwise let’s resign ourselves to waiting for Imola.
In the meantime, team cohesion work will be needed to prevent the Maranello Santa Barbara from exploding…
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