Ferrari may be facing a management shakeup, but that uncertainty stands in stark contrast to the quiet progress being made towards the development of the 2023 Formula 1 car.
With the departure of team boss Mattia Binotto, Ferrari is facing a somewhat more difficult winter. Because his successor will need some time to get used to the tricky environment of the Scuderia and to take the right steps.
Who will be the successor is still open, but the sparrows whistle from the rooftops that it should be Alfa Romeo team boss Frederic Vasseur. Sauber team founder Peter Sauber revealed this indirectly in an interview with the Swiss “Blick” when he was asked whether he was surprised by Vasseur’s move.
“Yes and no,” replies Sauber. “Well, if you get an offer from Ferrari, then you have to go.” He is also “glad” that he is no longer in the position of having to find Vasseur’s successor.
Quiet work behind the scenes
He also warns: “Anyone who knows the history of Ferrari knows that the team bosses usually have short lives.” And Sauber also knows that if Vasseur makes the wrong decisions early on, this will have long-term consequences due to the budget limit.
But while there is currently some excitement at the top at Ferrari, work on the car for 2023 is taking its regular course. Currently, the Scuderia can even fall back on Binotto’s many years of expertise, who will be available to the team until the end of the year.
Charles Leclerc emphasized at the FIA gala last week that he does not believe that the team will be greatly affected by the change of team boss: “I’m confident because we work a lot in the simulator,” said the Monegasque. “If the transition is done right, then I don’t think we’ll feel it on the track.”
There seems to be more confidence inside Ferrari than outside. And while there will no doubt be changes once the new team boss has had time to settle in, it doesn’t seem like Ferrari needs a major revolution or upheaval.
Small adjustments in the way things are going could be enough to make the difference in the battle with Red Bull and Mercedes.
New car significantly better than the F1-75?
The data from the wind tunnel seem to be positive. The 675 project, as the car is currently called internally, is intended to represent an important leap in quality over the F1-75. The engineers around project manager Enrico Cardile focused on two areas in which one had the feeling of having lost to Red Bull.
First, he wants to improve his top speed with greater aerodynamic efficiency. The drag issue arose not only from the difference in speed with the DRS open, but also from the approach to the aeroelasticity of certain components – where Red Bull may have been a lot smarter.
And that applies not only to the wings, but also to the car’s overall lean as it hits top speed on the straight.
Ferrari hopes for new tires
The second area is tire management. Pirelli brings new front tires to reduce understeer a bit. This could accommodate Ferrari’s concept on the one hand, but also Leclerc’s driving style on the other. In Maranello, the mathematical model of the new tires has been entered into the simulation systems and they are satisfied so far.
Ferrari was also smart enough to offer Pirelli to help them as much as possible with the development of the 2023 tyres. They know that every little piece of feedback they give or receive can make a difference in how they perform over a race weekend.
From the outside, the “675” will not differ much from the F1-75. The overall concept remains the same, but there will be some changes. This is most noticeable in the rear, where there is said to be a more pronounced shape in the bottleneck region.
Another aspect that inspires confidence is the progress that engine chief Enrico Gualtieri and his department have made on the reliability of the 066/7 engine. The test bench has sent positive signals that the problems of the early phase will be resolved in 2022. This brings confidence that the engine can be cranked up to full speed again in the coming year.