Ferrari looks to qualifying with a certain confidence: don’t let the times of the third free practice session influence you, because the best redhead, that of Carlos Sainz, is only seventh. The Prancing Horse team gave up trying the flying lap when the track got rubber, but the SF-23 had previously shown that it didn’t look bad in the qualifying simulation.
The feeling is that the Scuderia’s technicians have unlocked some of the potential that the red has in its body, but which was not seen either in Bahrain or in Saudi Arabia. The riders found a way in the development by allowing themselves a decidedly lower set-up (the red has now returned to release the sparks produced by the metal pads under the table) which allowed Sainz and Leclerc to work with the mediums in a good race simulation , containing the appearance of graining resulting from low Australian temperatures.
Ferrari SF-23 detail of the bottom with the curl promoted in Australia
Photo by: George Piola
The Scuderia promoted the bottom with the small curl in the trailing edge of the pavement in front of the rear wheel that had been rejected in Jeddah: the engineers headed by Enrico Cardile worked to stiffen the bottom. In Giorgio Piola’s image you can see the two tie rods: in addition to the external one, easily visible, at the end, you can see the smaller one halfway through the machine. Two tools that have allowed the red to travel lower with less sensitivity to changes in height.
Ferrari SF-23: There is a cap on the front brake vent
Photo by: George Piola
Also very interesting is the carbon “cap” which was made to choke the grip of the front brakes: those destined to bring the air for cooling the caliper and disc have not been closed, but rather the channel which introduces the air into the ” lung” that forms between the internal and external baskets. To help the front tires get up to temperature, you don’t try to keep the air cool to avoid overheating: with the low temperatures in Melbourne, the Prancing Horse men worked in the opposite direction…
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