The secret to Ferrari’s possible success over Red Bull and Mercedes revealed?

With Ferrari launching their new 2023 F1 challenger next week, speculation is rife about how they’ve made gains over the winter.
Charles Leclerc (MON) Ferrari F1-75. Formula 1 Testing, Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, Tuesday.
- www.xpbimages.com,
Charles Leclerc (MON) Ferrari F1-75. Formula 1 Testing, Yas Marina…

Ferrari will look to win their first drivers’ title since 2007 in F1 2023 with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz driving for them once again.

Remote video URL

With one week to go until their launch, Ferrari have confirmed their new car will be called the SF-23.

Despite finishing well behind eventual champion Max Verstappen and Red Bull in both championships, Ferrari had a better car than Red Bull - on average - up until the summer break.

As all three teams look to make gains over the winter, one area of focus is weight reduction.

Nine of the 10 teams started 2022 considerably overweight, with only Alfa Romeo at the weight limit.

One of the reasons for Red Bull’s remarkable improvement throughout last year, even aiding Verstappen more so than Sergio Perez, was how the RB18 became lighter as the season progressed.

Max Verstappen (NLD), Red Bull Racing and Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP), Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 21,
Max Verstappen (NLD), Red Bull Racing and Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP), Scuderia…

According to a report, Ferrari’s 2023 chassis will be two to three kilograms lighter than last year’s - an equivalent to approximately 0.1s per lap.

Main rivals Red Bull were expected to introduce their own lightweight chassis around Singapore, but with Verstappen running away with the title, they decided not to.

With Red Bull not showing off their real RB19 in their launch event in New York, time will tell as to whether this has been a key area of focus for the reigning world champions.

Less is known about Mercedes, but they will need to find significant gains aerodynamically to return to the front of the field.

With the 2023 season starting in less than a month’s time, all these questions will soon be answered.

Read More

Subscribe to our F1 Newsletter

Get the latest F1 news, exclusives, interviews and promotions from the paddock direct to your inbox