Ferrari’s new car is significantly lighter than the F1-75

Just over a week remains until the presentation of the new Ferrari car, scheduled for February 14, and last Friday the engine was successfully launched on the first chassis, which was assigned the code index 675. It is this car, after its official presentation to the press and fans, which will be run-in for the first time on a test track in Fiorano, and then sent for testing in Bahrain.

Italian sources report that the new chassis is 2-3kg lighter than last year’s, and in theory this will improve lap times by about a tenth. If this is true, the Maranello-built car promises to be very fast, especially since the Ferrari mechanics, according to rumors, while improving the reliability of the power plant managed to achieve a little more power. However, this has not been officially confirmed by the team.

Ferrari started working on the 2023 project for a long time, long before the summer break, after it halted the modernization of the F1-75 car in order to best prepare for the new season. Whether such an approach will make it possible to regain the gap to Red Bull Racing, which was clearly visible in the second half of the championship, will become clear soon enough.

In any case, Frederic Vasseur, who took over the Ferrari team this year, faces a formidable challenge. He will have to deal with the legacy of Mattia Binotto, the previous head of the Scuderia, because against the backdrop of a number of achievements there were clear misses. In addition, given the special status of Ferrari in Formula 1 and in motorsport in general, Vasseur has to build a new relationship with the FIA, and all this also takes time and serious efforts.

When asked if his new Ferrari car looks better than last year, Vasseur gave a completely logical answer: the most important thing is that he has to be fast. It’s hard to argue with that because if the team wins, no one will argue that Maranello built a great car.