Ferrari has gone for redesign in many areas of the SF-23 which they presented at Maranello, while the F1 power unit’s reliability improvement continues.
It was a bold launch from Ferrari at Maranello in the presence of about 500 fans and going live with a mini shakedown in front of the world with both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz getting a chance to drive the new SF-23 machine.
Among the launches so far in 2023, Ferrari certainly is the best of the lot so far where they not only involved the fans but also media and gave a live presentation of their car which had differences from the 2022 edition in most of the areas.
In fact, head of the chassis area, Enrico Cardile noted about the redesign work which went not only during the winter but also in the second half of 2022 when it became evident that the title is out of their reach with Red Bull in commanding position.
“Our 2023 car is an evolution of the one we raced last year, but in reality, it has been completely redesigned,” said Cardile. ”On the aerodynamic side, we increased vertical downforce, to adapt further to the new aero regulations and achieve the desired balance characteristics.
“The suspension has also been redesigned, to support aerodynamics and increase the range of adjustments that can be made to the car at the track. The most obvious changes are in the area of the front suspension where we have moved to a low track rod. The front wing is also different, as is the construction of the nose, while the bodywork is a more extreme version of what we saw last season.”
While the car in itself saw some changes, the power unit area was more of a reliability push considering the freeze. Enrico Gualtieri and his team focused on removing the weaknesses and understanding what caused them in 2022 in the first place.
“Preparation work for the new season is usually one of the busiest times of the year and this winter was no exception,” said Gualtieri. “PUs have been frozen since last year, including fluids, oil and fuel and the only modifications allowed are those related to reliability, which was our Achilles Heel last season.
“We focused on the internal combustion engine and the electric motors. At the same time, we tried to capitalise on the experience gained on track last season and looked at all the feedback and signs of weakness from the PU components we used. We also revised our assembly procedures.
“We tried to understand the root causes of the problems we encountered on track and used all our available tools to try and solve them. It involved all areas, from design to experimentation to try and test new solutions in a very short space of time. The work never ends, based on continuous improvement of the components to try and reach the required level of reliability.”
Here’s the 2023 F1 Ferrari car
Here’s Charles Leclerc driving old Ferrari car
Here’s Frederic Vasseur on Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz
Here’s Frederic Vasseur on Ferrari’s win target and PU
Here’s Frederic Vasseur crediting Mattia Binotto
Here’s Ferrari undertaking 2023 testing
Here’s Charles Leclerc on his extreme training