It was a St. Valentine’s Day to recollect for Scuderia Ferrari followers worldwide. At round lunchtime, the SF-23, the Maranello marque’s challenger for the approaching System 1 season, was unveiled on the firm’s Fiorano observe. It’s the 69th automobile constructed by Ferrari to compete in motor racing’s blue riband class, which begins with the Bahrain Grand Prix on 5 March.
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Followers within the stands. The day was filled with surprises, beginning with the presence of 500 followers in a grandstand specifically erected on the Fiorano observe, making this the very first launch to be staged after two years of digital automobile displays. Earlier than the launch, the drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz greeted the group, together with many members of the varied Scuderia Ferrari Golf equipment and college students from Muner, the Motorvehicle College of Emilia-Romagna, and a few from the Alfredo Ferrari Increased Schooling Institute, together with their academics.
Automotive on observe. The SF-23, whose identify marks a return to the format of the Scuderia Ferrari initials mixed with the yr of competitors, as has been the case for a lot of the hybrid period, was first seen on video. However then got here the announcement that, for the primary time since 2017, the automobile would really take to the observe on launch day. Which of the 2 drivers would get behind the wheel first was determined by Fred Vasseur tossing a particular coin, with Leclerc’s and Sainz’s race numbers- 16 and 55 – one on all sides. Charles gained and drove the SF-23 for its first couple of laps, whereas Carlos bought his flip shortly afterwards.
Particular livery. The SF-23 livery options some elements in bare carbon, whereas the historic “lengthy F” brand seems on the rear wing. The crimson color can be model new, created by Ferrari Design: a matt model of the System 1 automobile, and shiny on the 499P Hypercar, which makes its endurance racing debut this yr.
Charles Leclerc #16
Our entire workforce has put plenty of work into this new automobile, and seeing it in entrance of us for the primary time feels superb. It implies that the beginning of the season may be very shut, which is all the time an thrilling second.
It felt nice to drive it right here at Fiorano at this time, sharing the expertise with our Tifosi and companions. We nonetheless have to attend for the primary laps of testing to make actual assessments.
Our goal for the season can be to do even higher than final season, carry house extra victories and be extra constant. The largest purpose can be to win each championships, and we are going to do every part to attain this.
Carlos Sainz #55
Having the possibility to unveil the automobile in entrance of our Tifosi has been nice, as that is my first launch occasion in entrance of an viewers since I joined the Scuderia. I wish to thank everybody who has joined us on such a special occasion, each right here and on-line worldwide.
This automobile outcomes from everybody on the workforce’s ardour and laborious work through the previous months, and it definitely appears like one other step ahead. Our purpose can’t be aside from to maintain pushing ahead and attempting to carry house extra race wins, being aggressive and preventing for the World Championships. I can’t wait to hit the observe in Bahrain and get this new season going!
Frédéric Vasseur, Group Principal
Over the previous 5 weeks, I’ve had the possibility to get to know many workforce members. Now we have an important group of individuals right here, and it’s clear that motivation is excessive all through the workforce.
At the moment we launch SF-23, our 2023 contender, with our companions and Tifosi, and I’m delighted with how the automobile appears. I like the crimson and the ‘Effe Lunga’ that spans throughout the rear wing, reminding us of our heritage. Our focus will quickly shift to a different facet, which is its pace and efficiency. Now we have two gifted drivers who’re each wanting to win and have the abilities to attain this.
Our goal is to win the championship, which is not going to be straightforward as our rivals can have the identical goal in thoughts. We should carry the fitting mindset and all the time work on being higher tomorrow than we’re at this time.
Enrico Cardile, Head of Chassis Space
Our 2023 automobile is an evolution of the one we raced final yr, however it has been utterly redesigned. On the aerodynamic aspect, we elevated vertical downforce to adapt additional to the brand new aero laws and obtain the specified steadiness traits. The suspension has additionally been redesigned to help aerodynamics and enhance the vary of changes that may be made to the automobile on the observe.
The obvious modifications are within the entrance suspension space, the place we have now moved to a low-track rod. The entrance wing can be totally different, as is the development of the nostril, whereas the bodywork is a extra excessive model of what we noticed final season.
Enrico Gualtieri, Head of Energy Unit Space
Preparation work for the brand new season is often one of many busiest instances of the yr, and this winter was no exception. PUs have been frozen since final yr, together with fluids, oil and gasoline, and the one modifications allowed are these associated to reliability, which was our Achilles Heel final season.
We targeted on the inner combustion engine and the electrical motors. On the identical time, we tried to capitalise on the expertise gained on observe final season and checked out all of the suggestions and indicators of weak spot from the PU parts we used. We additionally revised our meeting procedures.
We tried to know the foundation causes of the issues we encountered on observe and used all our obtainable instruments to attempt to remedy them. It concerned all areas, from design to experimentation, to check new options rapidly. The work by no means ends, based mostly on steady enchancment of the parts to attempt to attain the required stage of reliability.
