Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur spoke of plans for a major upgrade to the SF-23 car. The team is working hard on updates that will be ready for May’s Miami Grand Prix.
Frederic Wasser: “In Australia we took a step forward, but we didn’t realize the potential of the car. For this reason, after the finish, we all experienced strange emotions. In Melbourne we took a different route of working with the machine – it seems our ideas worked. But as I said, we didn’t exploit the car’s potential, especially in qualifying.
On Saturday we made a mistake – Charles Leclerc missed the warm-up lap and Carlos Sainz made a mistake in the first corner. If this had not been the case, we would have taken a front row position at the start. It was the team’s fault, not anyone’s.
In the race the car was more balanced and held the track better, allowing Carlos to get closer to the Red Bull. Unfortunately, Charles did not succeed. I think we are on the right track, but in Baku the team needs to confirm the progress made in Australia.
We are preparing many new products, but not for Baku, because the updated aerodynamic kit is not suitable for this level of downforce. In addition, it is not easy to evaluate new products in themselves in the sprint phase. But we will have updates in Miami, Imola, not Monaco, and in Barcelona. For every race we bring new items.
We are preparing updates, but I don’t think the car that will take the team to the next Grand Prix can be called the B version, because there will not be any strong external differences from the current one. We will continue to update the current car and will try to improve it seriously.
Starting a new project with a clean slate during the season with budget and wind tunnel constraints… I don’t want to say it’s impossible, but it’s very difficult. I hope we have chosen the right development direction and can improve the car significantly. As long as it is possible to increase downforce and balance and achieve better stability, it makes sense to develop the current project.
We have developed a modernization program before the start of the season, which we are now adapting to the problems of the car and what is happening on the track. We took quick action and brought new items to Melbourne already, but we cannot radically change the modernization plan after the first three races.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
