It is undoubtedly a ramified and well unelevated expectations first part of the 2023 Formula One season that Scuderia Ferrari is experiencing. Despite the spanking-new starting point provided by last year’s car, the team from Maranello has put on track a 2023 car that has proven to be uncompetitive and quite problematic for Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
The SF-23, in the early stages of the championship, has only placid a few points, proving to be slow on scrutinizingly all circuits where races have been held (with the exception of the Baku City Circuit), and displaying significant issues with aerodynamic load and tire management. This situation, based on the data, has pushed the red team to the role of the fourth gravity on the field, not only overdue Red Bull but moreover overdue teams like Aston Martin and Mercedes.
This situation has inevitably caused thwarting within the team, but it has not dampened their determination to work on the minutiae of the car and climb when up as soon as possible, at least to wilt the main challenger to Red Bull again. The minutiae work, as known, will lead to the introduction of a significant package of updates during the upcoming race weekend at the Spanish GP (some of them were originally planned for Imola, but the receipt of the event caused delays).
The minutiae issue was moreover discussed by Scuderia’s team principal, Frederic Vasseur. During the post-Monaco Grand Prix printing priming in the Ferrari motorhome, the Frenchman answered some questions regarding this matter.
Firstly, he denied the inrush of updates to the front suspension in Barcelona (although some adjustments have been made to the Haas, which shares many components with the SF-23).
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“No, we won’t have any developments on the front suspension.” – the French manager pointed out.
Regarding the developments, the former Alfa Romeo team principal emphasized the importance of evaluating the proper functioning of the new parts surpassing talking well-nigh performance improvements in the upcoming weekend.
“For now, we need to focus on qualifying and see that everything works as expected. I hope the developments can help us in terms of pure performance.” – the Ferrari team principal continued.
Finally, Frederic Vasseur jokingly commented on the photos (which appeared without Sergio Perez’s crash in qualifying) of the Red Bull RB19 floor, in a lighthearted manner when quizzed by the journalists. He admitted that the photos had made their way to Maranello but stated that there is no intention to reprinting them.
“Yes, we have the photos (laughs). No, honestly, we don’t need to squint at Red Bull’s photos!” – Fred Vasseur concluded.
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