In the 2023 Azerbaijan F1 GP, Ferrari has highlighted once again since the introduction of the TD39, a different behavior between qualifying and the start of the race with a full tank in slow corners, which it wants to resolve with the updates arriving in the next races.
In the Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2023 of F1, the Ferrari has given signs of awakening after a bad start to the world championship, thanks to the two poles and podiums of Charles Leclerc. The upside was the improvement in the SF-23 without updates, a sign that in Maranello after many goodbyes and a bad start to the season, the way has been found. Leclerc and the Ferrari they were the protagonists of a match with two faces: in defense in the first part with a step six tenths slower than the Red Bullat the same pace as Perez e Verstappen from the 38th lap onwards. In particular the Ferrari once again as from Spa 2022 onwards, it behaved differently in the first laps, in the part of the track where Leclerc on the flying lap it made the difference.
Max Verstappen and his rocketship send it past Leclerc! 🚀😮💨#AzerbaijanGP #F1 @redbullracing pic.twitter.com/Kn0Z14tAeC
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 1, 2023
Instead once again at the start of the race the situation between Ferrari e Red Bull capsizes, with a faster RB19 of the SF-23 in the central sector, as we can see in the graph of the third round. Leclerc photocopied in the first two rounds, after a good T1, he saw Verstappen e Perez come close in T2, and score higher intermediates in that stretch of track throughout the first stint. This problem is closely linked to that of tire management, and of which the Ferrari began to suffer from Belgian GP 2022since it was introduced TD39. In fact, since that time F1-75 losing the balance of the car having been forced to lift the car, it also started to make the tires work badly. With the SF-23 the Maranello stable it hasn’t solved the problem, and continues to suffer with a full tank in the driven, with lower cornering speed in the first stint, 5/6 kilometers per hour.
The speech changes in the final race. As we can see from the second graph, as soon as the car gets lighter and Leclerc can push, the gap between Red Bull e Ferrari it cancels. So the SF-23 losing weight and turning to a ground clearance similar to that of qualifications, returns competitive and be on the levels of Red Bull in the central sector. This allowed Leclerc to be able to challenge Perez and Verstappen for the fastest lap proving that the performance of SF-23 it’s not as far as we thought in the first three races, from that of the RB19.
This is the objective that Ferrari sets itself with the updates; make being fast on tracks more probable for tire management, the SF-23 over the course of an entire GP. There Ferrari is aware that although the modifications made for Baku have given positive responses, precisely the different behavior with full and empty tank is one of the main defects of the SF-23. The updates that will arrive in Miami, Imola and Barcelona will also be important in terms of 2024, to understand if how l’Aston Martin this year and as per rumors also there Mercedes will do with the W14 B, will have to follow the philosophy of Red Bull.