Ferrari, the new car is called SF23: the presentation on February 14th

He still hasn’t revealed his clothes and his heart, he will do it on Valentine’s Day (February 14) in Maranello. But she has a name, SF23Ferrari for the World Championship which is about to begin with the first gp in Bahrain (March 5) after the tests in the Sakhir desert (February 23-25).

Eighth single-seater with the initials SF

The team therefore returns to the denomination that characterized almost the entire hybrid era of the Formula 1. Indeed, it made its debut on the 2015 SF15-T and was abandoned only last year, with the F1-75. It is the eighth single-seater to have the acronym SF in its name, followed by the racing year for the fourth time. The years since the foundation of the company were celebrated on two occasions (with the SF70H, SF71H of 2017 and 2018), on one occasion those of the creation of the Scuderia (with the SF90 of 2019) and on one occasion, in 2020, the milestone of a thousand Grand Prix races (SF1000), even if that was the most difficult year for the redhead: sixth in the championship, never so bad in 40 years.

It starts from 2nd place behind Red Bull

A geological era has gone by, from that abyss: Ferrari then climbed back up to show up at the dawn of last year’s ground effect regulatory revolution, with a super competitive car. Then, during the 2022 season, it lost ground to the competition mainly due to engine reliability problems and strategy errors. It finished second in the standings both among the constructors and with the drivers (with Charles Leclerc) last World Championship, behind an elusive Red Bull.

On the eve of this new 2023 adventure, the Cavallino seems to have solved the engine problems and to have also improved in performance. In the meeting with the national and international press in Maranello at the end of January, the new team principal, Fred Vasseur, who replaced Mattia Binotto, was very clear about his objectives: to win.

On Valentine’s Day the redhead of the tests in Bahrain

The SF23 that will be unveiled on Valentine’s Day will be the same one that will take to the track for the pre-season tests in Bahrain, there would not even be time, no “prototype” or simple livery as the other teams have done so far (except Alfa Romeo) including Red Bull which in New York days ago, thanks to the announcement of the partnership with Ford starting since 2026, it has actually shown the old blue without any particular innovations. There Mercedes which everyone expects to return to the top after last year’s problems, will be unveiled on February 15th. The red, on the other hand, will truly be the redhead of the World Championship which is upon us. And that he wants to open as a protagonist.

Vasseur: “Leclerc or Sainz? Ferrari comes before the drivers. Our only goal is to win”

by our correspondent Alessandra Retico

January 27, 2023