F1: Sainz and Ferrari disagree on how to improve the car

The difficult start to the year leads to debates in Ferrari: while Carlos Sainz wants profound changes, the team boss thinks about making the project evolve

There were only three races held in the 2023 season. Not much, but already enough for Ferrari to enter a state of tension. Between breakdowns, driver errors or simply a lack of pace, the Scuderia is experiencing its worst start to the championship in 14 years.

After the Australian GP, ​​Carlos Sainz, who also had a good race, but was punished for touching Fernando Alonso and finished without points, compared the SF-23 with the car which is the reference of the season: “ Right now, Red Bull is superior in everything. Superior in standings, race, straight line speed, low and medium corners, tire management, curbs and undulations,” he told the Autosport portal.

The Spaniard gives his diagnosis on what could have been Ferrari’s motivation to follow the line it is following today: “I think the excellent performance at the beginning of last year made us, I think, continue to insist on this concept , on this machine project”.

For Sainz, the deficit compared to his rival is a signal that it is time to look for something new that can make the team re-emerge as a power: “This clearly demonstrates that we have to change something. We have to go (to the factory) and check something very different from where we are now.”

The pilot understands that it is time to look for references in other teams to take the concept to another path. “I think we now realize that Red Bull has a clear edge across everything and that we need to start looking sideways.”

Vasseur rules out any “SF-23 B”

If Sainz does not hide his desire to see a change of direction in development and hopes for a renewed car, Fredric Vasseur prefers to remain faithful to the idea of ​​continuity. Regarding the need raised by his pilot to have a more thorough review of the project, the foreman is adamant: “No, I don’t think so.”

“We stick to the plan. We made some adjustments in terms of balance and handling of the car, and it was already much better in Melbourne, and we will continue in this direction,” said the Frenchman, also to Autosport. “It’s not a B-series car, if it is that what do you mean. We’re not going to bring something completely different. We’re going to keep evolving this and we’re going to try to evolve a lot.

Vasseur explains that Ferrari is confident in the evolutionary potential of the car in question: “We have the feeling, and I hope to be sure of it, that we are going in the right direction, that we still have a lot to improve on the car” , he said. “We have already made improvements in Melbourne and will continue.”

He then explained that a radical change of direction is an even more complicated task in a budget-limited F1: “Making a new project from scratch during the year with the budget limit, plus the restriction on the use of the wind tunnel I wouldn’t say it’s impossible, but it’s very difficult.”

The development plan of Ferrari

Vasseur explained Ferrari’s planning: “We always have a development plan for the year, which changes depending on the circumstances.” And he detailed: “We have a flow of news that won’t reach Baku, because we already have the package for that track and because of the sprint, but in Miami yes, then Imola yes, Monaco no and Barcelona yes. In every race, an update on the car”.

Aware that the car needs further adjustments to be able to dream of victories again (since thinking about titles is perhaps dreaming too high…) the boss said what can be adapted in this plan: “What we can do is accelerate this process, maybe with some differences in terms of successes and things like that.

In any case, he was keen to reiterate that a radical change is excluded, even more so in the initial phase of the championship: “We can’t massively change the plan after three races and say ‘okay, we have to change everything'”.

Source: Terra

Rose

Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.