Ferrari Will Bring a Fully Revised SF-23 for Imola, in May.
The upgrades will focus on the sidepods, and the rear suspension; solving downforce and degradation issues.
The Italian team had quite a tumultuous start of the 2023 Formula 1 season; their problems date back to February during the Bahrain tests. The team detected high degradation, and could not sustain long stints within the target time.
Apart from the aerodynamic issues, the team also suffered the much-dreaded reliability issues in one of their main components, Control Electronics (CE). Leclerc suffered a penalty because the team already used more than the 2 allowed per season; every time Charles changes this component from now on it will result in a 10-place grid penalty.
Another component changed was the Internal Combustion Engine (ICU). Both drivers, Leclerc, and Sainz have fitted a new ICU after just one race. The good thing about the ICU is that you can rotate them as you see fit; the CE, on the other hand, was not salvageable for Leclerc.
Ferrari’s races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have been mediocre, to say the least. Teams like Aston Martin and Mercedes are above them in terms of pace; this is due to the degradation that troubles the Cavallino. The car is unable to fight for position without cooking the tires. Not to mention that overtaking is proving to be quite difficult. The drivers have to rely on harder tire compounds to be able to complete their stints. This translates to slower lap times for longer periods of time. A team can lose from 2 to 3 tenths of a second per lap, depending on the circuit.
The team has been working hard back in Maranello; they have recently been able to match the real car’s pace to the one in the simulator. Apparently, according to Sainz, the team know exactly where to look to find the problem.
This is good news for everyone. The R&D team will now work on a revised version of the sidepods for the SF-23. It looks like the bowl-shaped pods will no longer exist. Every team is starting to ‘copy’ Red Bull’s design philosophy. Toto Wolff, Mercedes’ Team Principal, said that they will not be ashamed to copy the team from Milton Keynes. Finally, everyone is coming down from their moral high-ground, and are prioritizing results over pride.
It seems that the ideal time to bring upgrades is in May, during the Imola Grand Prix. It marks the start of the European run, so teams will be close to home; factories are going to be working full steam in order to bring the teams upgrades during every race they can in Europe. Mercedes is choosing the Imola Grand Prix as well, to bring new parts for the W14.
Ferrari’s goal, and probably Mercedes’ too, is to challenge Aston Martin; they are hoping to get second place in the Constructors’ Championship, as it will represent a huge monetary prize; pride is also on the line. Red Bull is still out of reach, and sadly, it seems that the championship will be decided sooner than later. However, this is the longest season in the history of F1, so not everything is set.
The team from Maranello will try to solve a bouncing problem that is produced at certain speeds, and that severely affects downforce. The upgrades to be made on the rear suspension will allow for greater height control, mitigating the unwanted bounce. With much less hopping, or bouncing, the vertical forces are controlled better, resulting in less tire wear, and sustained downforce at higher speeds, for longer periods of time.
Source: Motorsport
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