Ferrari have 'completely redesigned' SF-23: 'That was our Achilles' heel'

Ferrari 'redesigned SF-23'

Some say Ferrari had the fastest car on the F1 grid in 2022, despite Red Bull Racing's impressive season. That speed was mostly evident in qualifying, where the F1-75 generally outperformed the RB18. In races, on the other hand, the Italian racing team often had to outperform Max Verstappen's team.

With the SF-23, Ferrari hope to take a big step forward. "Our 2023 car is an evolution of the one we raced last year, but in reality, it has been completely redesigned," said Enrico Cardile, head of the chassis department in a Ferrari press release. Among other things, the suspension has been redesigned to aid aerodynamics and better tune the car on the track. The nose and front wing have also undergone a transformation.

On top of the aerodynamic changes, the engine has also been tinkered with. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were plagued by reliability problems more than once in 2022, so that was high on the priority list. "The only modifications allowed are those related to reliability, which was our Achilles Heel last season," said Enrico Gualtieri, head of the engine department. "We focused on the internal combustion engine and the electric motors."

He continued: "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." In this way, Ferrari hope to achieve the required level of reliability.