The Ferrari accelerates, having already covered 100 kilometres: crowds for the drivers

MARANELLO. Ferrari is racing. Presented on Valentine’s Day in Maranello, the SF-23 immediately made its debut on the private Fiorano circuit and covered 15 kilometers on a “demo day”. The following day he covered the 100 kilometers required by the regulations to shoot a video and he took the opportunity to run in and already collect the first technical data. “We will immediately try to go to the limit” revealed Carlos Sainz. The goal is to take advantage of the “filming day” as if it were a real test, so as to show up in Bahrain for the official tests after finishing homework for the holidays.

Charles Leclerc, who covered 17 laps, and Carlos Sainz (16) took to the track in order, under the eyes of hundreds of fans behind the networks who waited for the end of the show to snatch a selfie or an autograph. “So we restored the balance, since Carlos was ahead for three laps to two”, smiled in Ferrari.

It is the plan of attack decided by Ferrari. On 23 February in Sakhir, in the Bahraini desert, all the teams will make their debut for three days of testing: just a few to complete the refinement work of the SF-23 in view of the first Grand Prix which will be held in Bahrain on 5 March. Anyone who stops risks being left behind: a breakdown or a long stop during testing would force expectations to be revised downwards, which are currently high at Ferrari. “It’s the year of our world championship”, repeated the drivers and the new team principal, Frédéric Vasseur. “The SF-23 will have no precedent in terms of speed,” said CEO Benedetto Vigna.

In the three days, Ferrari will insert a double long run, as the simulations in race set-up are called: one to verify the reliability of the engine, which last year effectively stopped the race for the title forcing the technicians to reduce the power, the other to evaluate the aerodynamic innovations.

The SF-23, where the acronym means Scuderia Ferrari and the number indicates the year, has undergone many small exterior changes that hide a revolution under the skin. The nose is shorter, the sides have a new design, the heat dissipation grilles have been repositioned, and the underbody is also new. The positive results analyzed in the wind tunnel must now be verified on the track: the transition from virtual to real is always the critical moment of a new campaign. “A great deal of work has been done on the internal combustion engine and on the electric one to find reliability”, explains the head of the engineers, Enrico Gualtieri.

Comparison with rivals is also crucial. World champion Red Bull presented a “fake”, a car from last year with the new livery. Its performance will be the benchmark. Mercedes, on the contrary, has unveiled the authentic new single-seater, in the abbreviation W14, which takes up the philosophy of 2022 with very narrow sides. Courageous and extreme choice, which last year led to a third place among the manufacturers after nine years of dominance.

Ferrari looks in its box. Vasseur recommends not giving excessive weight to the first grand prix, because “what matters to him is the final result”, at the end of November in Abu Dhabi.

A curiosity concerns the color. There is the black of the carbon parts, which are lighter without paint, and there is a new shade of red called “Le Mans 2023”. It’s the same color that will be applied to the 499P, the hypercar (we would say the racing car) that Ferrari will field at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for its return to endurance racing after 50 absences. The only difference: the glossy version was chosen for Le Mans, while the matt version was adopted for Formula 1, keeping in mind the fundamental rule: the most beautiful car is the one that wins. And Ferrari wants to excel on two fronts this year.