Ferrari rejected without appeal: SF23 an illusion of the simulator | FP – Formula 1

A bitter 2023

It was supposed to be the year in which ‘finish the job’ only started in 2022, or the one that would bring the title back to Maranello after 16 years of waiting. Having solved the reliability problems of the power unit gave the men of the Ferrari the awareness of no longer having to fear the Achilles’ heel that had made the dreams of glory fade away at the beginning of the season with two victories in three races. Instead, the verdict given by the track in the first third of the championship is very severe for the SF-23.

The Red Bull RB19 has grown significantly to the point of having won all the races held so far. Mercedes failed to insist on the aerodynamic concept without sides and is now trying to take measures, Ferrari did too, but in Barcelona no steps forward were found comparable to those of the W14. Aston Martin then shuffled the cards by presenting an AMR23 which only ‘failed’ in Barcelona, ​​but which was constantly on the podium with Fernando Alonso.

For now, Ferrari has only one podium to its credit with Leclerc, third in Azerbaijan, the same number of top-3s as Alpine. Today’s edition of The print bluntly defines 2023 ‘A lost year’: “Ferrari’s 2023 is a year thrown away without a lesson or an indication towards the future. It’s another year zero: the engineers don’t understand the car they designed and the drivers can’t drive it – reads the report by Stefano Mancini – it seems to be back to 2020, the last zero year in Maranello: Ferrari agrees to give up some solutions bordering on the regulation and performance collapses”. The latter reference refers to the power unit between 2019 and 2020 and to the fund’s skid from 2022 to 2023, an element whose regulation changed during construction in 2022 as a result of the anti-porpoising technical directive 039 entered into force from the Belgian Grand Prix.

“2023 is baptized as the year of possible victory. Never was an error of judgment so clear. Simulation systems give exciting results, but designers underestimate the work of rivals. It’s the good year, people murmur during the presentation of the SF-23. In the winter tests in Bahrain, the truth emerges, disguised as a passing problem – continues the article – the Cavallino is currently the fourth strength, as in the worst moments of its history. Rebuild, but how? Times are long: to start a winning cycle, years of constant growth are needed, in the right direction and with a team renewed in key points”.