The focus is on aerodynamics, but there is also talk of a change to the rear suspension. At Ferrari they are trying to absorb the “blow” of the Saudi Arabian GP with Carlos Sainz, sixth, and Charles Leclerc, seventh at the finish line.
Looking at the order of arrival, it seems to have plunged back into the bad 2020 season with the infamous SF-1000, while Maranello’s expectations were to go on the attack of Red Bull. It is all too clear that between the predictions of possible victory and the slaps received in Jeddah there are a sea of questions awaiting precise answers, because Ferrari cannot be the one in the first two world championship appointments, otherwise this redhead is better to be thrown in the bin garbage and think about 2024.
The Ferrari on the track cannot afford to operate at the heights from the ground for which it was designed and settings higher than two millimeters are enough to make all the simulations carried out in the wind tunnel and in the simulator work. The SF-23 loses aerodynamic load and, therefore, having less vertical thrust, lacks grip and the tires begin to slide, triggering that degradation which causes performance to degenerate, even on a track with little abrasive asphalt and where the tires should not be a problem.
There are those who suggest that a nefarious influence is still dictated by the TD39, the FIA standard which changed the technical regulation, at last year’s Belgian GP and which literally crippled the red with the anti porpoising metric and, above all, with the constraints introduced by the bending of the board on the bottom.
If this were the case, it would be serious, very serious, given that the other teams brilliantly made up for the loss of downforce (evaluated in half a second) due to the increased size of the pavement of the bottom by 15 mm compared to the past year.
Ferrari SF-23: the side bulkhead with more out-wash effect
Photo by: George Piola
The lack of downforce prompted the GeS engineers to choose a more loaded rear wing than Jeddah would have required: we found ourselves in the paradox that in Bahrain the SF-23 ran more unloaded than necessary and on the shores of the Red Sea it had more drag to compensate for the lack of vertical thrust. Quite the opposite with respect to the characteristics of the slopes.
Thus, the Ferrari was no longer the fastest on the straights and gained some cornering performance (a feature in which the F1-75 shone), paying off, however, in the support curves at a certain speed, where the ground effect that must play its part.
Ferrari SF-23: here is the fund that was not used during the Jeddah weekend
Photo by: Jon Noble
The modified underbody that was tested in free practice was parked, while the more out-wash-friendly front wing bulkhead and rear wing with mono-pylon were part of the upgrade package.
Enrico Cardile is convinced that the deficiency is set up and of an aerodynamic nature, but the technical office staff is also working on a modification of the rear suspension which could help find a better balance in the development of the Ferrari “grasshopper”. There is talk of an arm anchored to the gearbox in a different way to favor the anti-squat effect and prevent the rear end from crouching under acceleration, keeping the red with a more stable ground clearance.
In short, in Maranello they believe that the SF-23 can express a potential that has not yet been unlocked: they are convinced that the red is not wrong, but needs an accurate data correlation and fine-tuning work between minimum heights from the ground , suspension stiffness and wing loading.
Let’s not forget that the principles on which the machine was designed have been changed, while maintaining the concept of the sides with the excavation which, perhaps, has reached its development limit, while the sides that exploit the Coanda effect have more margin of growth.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Photo by: Ferrari
Let’s remember that last year’s Ferrari was very fast in the corners and lacking on the straight (a lot of downforce and little aerodynamic efficiency), while this year’s single-seater is the exact opposite. Even with the constraints of the budget cap there is an attempt to react to the black moment and internally Fred Vasseur is trying to keep a group united that is under a lot of pressure.
For which the attacks from outside that have drummed up in recent weeks have also died down. There’s no need…
