When the Ferrari the media attention converges. On the other hand it is completely natural, speaking of the most prestigious team in the highest category of motorsport and also the most successful. However the triumphs are now lost in the mists of time. The last one dates back to the competitive campaign 2008when Kimi Raikkonen e Felipe Massa they added up enough points to give away the builders’ crown to the prancing Horse.
It was November 2nd and since that day the redhead has filled the eyes of other people’s victories. Fourteen world championships where the team Of Maranello came close to the title on only two occasions, 2010 e 2012. Struggled for half the season or so, 2017 and 2018, lost hope in the summer last year, 2022. We are talking about 33 stage triumphs out of 284 Grand Prix disputed, as a percentage 10.56%. A little too little if there is space on the body of your car prancing Horse.
Returning to the present, we have examined the trend of the company in every single detail SF-23 in relation to its initial characteristics, project 675. In a second moment, from the Catalan race to be exact, there was no lack of analyzes on the updated single-seater. Then came the Canada, where hope has peeped. While awaiting further confirmations that go beyond the comforting evidence presented a Montrealtoday we are examining, through further data, various behavioral aspects of the redhead.
Ferrari: 6 tenths lost along the way
Through the fastest laps in the race of Hamilton e Leclerc we note some aspects. In general, the degradation of the Ferrari is diminished. For this reason the reds were able to adopt a “reverse strategy” by performing a pit stop in less. By doing so the SF-23 they produced one of the stint wider with the Pirelli with yellow band, compound with a performance similar to the Soft.
Before observing the telemetry we must without fail precede a very important consideration, for the purposes of reasoning. The two chronometric results under the magnifying glass arrive at lap number forty-seven, a lap in which both riders set up their own fastest lap.
On this basis, we underline how the Monegasque stopped the hands of the chrono in his fastest attempt by mounting a set of tires Hard brand new. While the British seven-time world champion of MercedesInstead, was touring with a train of Medium used which he would then change a few laps later.
compare fastest lap: Leclerc vs Hamilton – Gp Canada 2023
By studying the graphics as a whole, let’s first try to understand where the red loses ground during the evolution of the session. At the first corner the number 16 initially gains, but already from the next change of direction it begins to lose. Only in turn 2 the gap is around a tenth of a second. Delta which remains stable in the stretch that leads towards the second chicane which is traveled at a higher speed.
Hamilton produces a higher traction towards the 5, a curve that is undertaken in “flat out“. At the next chicane Charles he still pays the price by losing a further 50 thousandths of a second, bringing the gap in the middle of the track to 4 tenths. The other good part of the gap is added in the change of direction 8-9, where la SF-23 is slower than 3 tenths compared to W14.
In general we can say that in braking/entrance the red manages to gain something, an advantage which however disappears in the exit phase. From the center of the curve onwards, therefore, the Ferrari tends to waste most of the useful time. In the following straight, after turn 10, the two single-seaters tackle the stretch in question in a different way and the Monegasque recovers about 2 tenths of a second in pure speed.
However on the last chicane, where the very famous and feared “wall of champions” is present, Lewis widens the gap again by a tenth and a half. Overall the delta performance between the two cars is attested on the abundant half second.
Ferrari: the characteristics of the SF-23
As the tire administration said in Ferrari it seems improved, with the rear of the single-seater not going faster in difficulty. However, it must also be remembered that a Montreal lo stress greater on the compounds is of the longitudinal type. While the transverse stresses remain rather low. Furthermore, it is not a track where we find many areas of pure traction.
The aspect that must undoubtedly be emphasized concerns the potential in terms of pure performance of the Italian single-seater, lower than Mercedesat least in Canada, during the ride. This factor had already been highlighted in Bahrainwhere the car was clearly limited by the management of the compounds and the performance in the race there was not at all.
compare: slow curve vs medium speed curves
Now let’s go more specifically and try to understand which types of curves are still bad for the SF-23 when compared to Mercedes, currently the most affordable car on Sundays. In the previous table we have created a distinction between curves at low speed (Montreal.
We note how in bends below 100km/h Leclerc loses a percentage of 5.32%, while in those at medium speed the gap accumulated is less, 3.5%. In terms of speed we see that the SF-23 basically pays 3.7km/h in slower corners and 4.4kmh in medium ones. The story changes in the stretches where the only one to gain is the single-seater conceived in Maranello. As the speed increases, the gain increases by half a percentage point, i.e. when the speed is exceeded 300kmh.
compares: cornering speed vs straight line speed
But in reality, observing this second table which offers the “raw” data, we notice that the first chicane partially distorts the results. In slower speed corners, the red tends to gain against the W14which therefore shows a lower value of grip mechanical, as also confirmed by Lewis Hamilton.
Il Black king in fact, he highlighted low travel speeds as the next development field to be evaluated during the next few weeks. In the turn 6-7 chicane la SF-23 gains about 3km/h in the center of the curve. Turn 10 has not been tackled at its best since Charles who tried to take better care of the exit.
Finally, a couple of reflections to summarize the concepts. The detachment from Mercedes in the race it is decreasing, it is all true, nevertheless we must reiterate two factors. The first concerns a certain endemic lack of load which, as a consequence, negatively affects the performance of the red in the lap times.
The second concerns the Canadian track which, unfortunately, due to the particular conformation of the layoutcannot be considered a suitable and definitive test bench since, as mentioned, the lack of wide-ranging and supportive curves that seriously complicate the management of surface temperatures and of the casing are absent.
Authors and Graphic Designers: Alessandro Arcari – @berrageiz – Niccolo Arnerich –@niccoloarnerich
Images: Scuderia Ferrari