Given how sharp last year’s car was, few would bet on a revolutionary Ferrari compared to the previous model, but you never know with the Il Cavallino rampante brand. At an event in Fiorano, the brand’s private circuit in Maranello, this Tuesday morning, the ‘Scuderia’ presented the car with which Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz can briefly compete with Red Bull and Mercedes, who start with the favorites tag.
At first glance, the SF23 does not show any major changes compared to its predecessor, which is understandable given the stability of the regulation, which has already passed a year after the 2022 shock. And also the fact that the F1-75 was able to claim four more wins and 12 pole positions than any other car on the grid. The first impression is that it is an evolution, with some modifications (front suspension and nose) and with the refinement of the aerodynamic part. Therefore, the most logical thing to do was to maintain and strengthen the base to avoid triggers like those that eroded Leclerc and Sainz’s options over the past year. Leaving aside the technical aspects of this new SF23, the Italian troops are forced to take a step forward on the strategic issue, another weak point of the structure. It will definitely be necessary to see the impact that the incursion of Fred Vasseur, the manager coming from Alfa Romeo to replace Mattia Binotto as director, is having on the group dynamics.
“This is one of the special days I have experienced as a pilot. We are as prepared as possible. We even did a test here with an old car (2021),” Sainz admitted just before completing his first three laps behind the wheel of the SF23, on one of the days when the regulations allow out-of-time testing to meet the advertising needs of each team.
“We worked a lot on the simulator. Last year was a step up compared to previous years, finishing second in both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships. Now the goal is to win,” assured Leclerc, who was the first to release the car, in front of 500 Tifosi who gathered in the grandstands of the track. “You feel the responsibility. The engine froze so we could only touch it in terms of reliability, which as everyone knows was an area where we weren’t as good as we would have liked,” concluded Vasseur.
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