- The Ferrari SF-23 has several key areas completely redesigned, most notably the front suspension.
- Ferrari remains Formula 1’s most decorated team, but it last won a Constructors’ title in 2008.
- Ferrari's former team principal Mattia Binotto has been replaced by Frederic Vasseur, who joined in January after six years as Alfa Romeo’s project leader.
Ferrari unveiled the car with which it aims to contend for this year’s Formula 1 championship.
The iconic marque presented its 2023 package, the SF-23, during an outdoor ceremony at its Maranello base on Tuesday. The ceremony opened with a violinist playing the national anthem while the crowd in attendance on a gorgeously sunny morning cheered a mere mention of antipasti by Carlos Sainz.
Sainz’s teammate, Charles Leclerc, then completed a couple of laps of its Fiorano test facility—waving to the fans and joking with Sainz over the team radio—as part of a first public demonstration of the SF-23.
Music, food appreciation, and a racing car in action on a sunny day—could it be any more Italian?
Only 15 km of running is permitted during such a demonstration run in a current-spec car but a full shakedown, where 100 km of driving is allowed, is due to take place on Wednesday.
Ferrari will again be represented on the grid by Leclerc and Sainz.
Leclerc fronted last year’s points table during the early rounds but was overhauled and comprehensively beaten by Max Verstappen. Leclerc nonetheless finished 2022 second in the championship—his highest career finish—with three victories.
Sainz took a maiden win but was never in contention for overall honors as he finished fifth in the standings.
Ferrari’s mixed results in 2022—second in the championship with 12 poles but only four wins—prompted Mattia Binotto to resign as team boss. He has been replaced by Frederic Vasseur, who joined in January after six years as Alfa Romeo’s project leader.
Ferrari remains Formula 1’s most decorated team but it last won a Constructors’ Championship in 2008, with its most recent Drivers’ Championship achieved with Kimi Räikkönen in 2007.
“When you are at Ferrari, after finishing P2 in 2022, you can’t have another objective other than to win,” said Vasseur. “It won’t be easy. We have Red Bull and Mercedes with the same target and only one team will win and only one driver will win the championship, but we need to have this target, we need to have the mindset of doing better tomorrow than we do today.”
Leclerc added that Ferrari made “a good step forward (in 2022) and we need to do the same this year—and get the championship.
“That’s the target for the team and it is the target for me too—get more wins, be more consistent from the first race to the last race and hopefully we’ll get that title.”
Chassis chief Enrico Cardile outlined that Ferrari has built on the lessons of the 2022-spec F1-75 with the SF-23, with several key areas completely redesigned, most notably the front suspension—undertaken for aerodynamic purposes and to increase the range of set-up options. Cardile also explained that “the front wing is different, as is the construction of the nose”, as it bids to display increased competitiveness.
One key flaw for Ferrari in 2022 was its power unit reliability, causing it to compromise performance for durability in the second half of the season, and focus has gone on addressing those weaknesses for 2023.
“Reliability was our Achilles’ heel last season,” conceded Head of Power Unit Area Enrico Gualtieri. He explained that Ferrari has focused primarily on the internal combustion engine and electrical motors, but has also revised the design of some components as well as its assembly procedures.
Click HERE to see a replay of Tuesday's unveiling.
