2023 Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team

[AR3-GP]

It will be a defining moment of the career of Charles Leclerc. Let us remember his choice. I'd have personally gone with the 1+1, but there's no getting between Leclerc and his passion for what Ferrari used to be.

[Vanja #66]

It will be a defining moment of the career of Charles Leclerc. Let us remember his choice. I'd have personally gone with the 1+1, but there's no getting between Leclerc and his passion for what Ferrari used to be.

Indeed. So far it looks like it might be a 2+3 deal, where the 3 is his option if the team achieves some competitive results. That would be waiting to see how 26 works out and being able to leave if it's not good. He'll turn 30 in 27, so that kind of deal for him makes sense to me. Needless to say, salary is only going up, so that mark is well and trully ticked

[BassVirolla]

Not sure if i agree with the statement that Sainz got slower.

He didn't. He was always slow.

So Leclerc can´t beat a slow driver easily? He needed a DNS because of a car problem to beat a slow driver like Sainz, as otherwise Sainz would finish ahead?

<rant deleted>

I'm not a Ferrari nor Sainz fan, but this huge amount of nonsense against Sainz is also getting me tired.

As a F1 fan, without much bias for any team nor driver, I'd rather read some facts posted than this "Sainz is slow" BS.

[emp]

To be honest, the tribalism in the Ferrari topics is insane. And mods contribute to it by allowing low effort posts like 'x is better than y, he is always so slow, he is washed' and stuff like this posted by not so bright people who seek only to cause drama and maybe win some stupid internet points. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, doesn't mean everyone has to spam it everywhere or that one opinion is better than the other.

[Xyz22]

Yeah...

[Stu]

To be honest, the tribalism in the Ferrari topics is insane. And mods contribute to it by allowing low effort posts like 'x is better than y, he is always so slow, he is washed' and stuff like this posted by not so bright people who seek only to cause drama and maybe win some stupid internet points. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, doesn't mean everyone has to spam it everywhere or that one opinion is better than the other.

Intra-team driver fan rivalry drags many of the team threads to new lows (the Mercedes one is equally as bad as the Ferrari one as is Alpine and McLaren). I would like to remind all users that this is primarily targeted as a TECHNICAL forum and fan-boy driver rivalry does nothing to add to any technical content.
Unfortunately it is impossible to remove all such content so, as mods, we can only remove the worst of this content and appeal to users better nature to not post this kind of content.
As you all should know, we have a zero tolerance in the car threads for non-technical content & make a point of either locking or deleting threads that become driver vs driver ‘debates’.
There is a fine line between discussion of perceived ‘poor’ performance and ‘pile-on’ commentary; I take the view that this line is crossed once civility and quantifiable data are thrown in the garbage….

I should probably post this in each team thread!!

[Stu]

Intra-team driver fan rivalry drags many of the team threads to new lows (the Mercedes one is equally as bad as the Ferrari one as is Alpine and McLaren).

The merc team thread?

If its bad it's because it seems like some people (none merc fans) are allowed to post whatever garbage they like there!

There is a vocal contingent of alleged Mercedes fans that seem to enjoy jumping on George Russell…

[Sevach]

Yeah...

In the later races it's probably less than .68 if that's any consolation, early season must've been something ridiculous, close to 1%

[organic]

Charles interview with AMuS

https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/for ... ritt-2024/

“Pole positions are no longer highlights”

As always, Junaid has the translation on his twitter feed. The article is behind a paywall on the site

[deadhead]

Sounds pretty honest there I think..

So Dutch GP was pivotal it seems.. really curious what they did then

[Vanja #66]

Some more details from Leclerc interview

https://www-formulapassion-it.translate ... r_pto=wapp

“I am 100% convinced that we will take a step forward in 2024 – the words of the Monegasque interviewed by the German newspaper Auto Motor und Sport – the problem is that in F1 everything is relative. If Red Bull finds another second we will all seem 'outdone' once again."

“ Compared to Red Bull we have to recover several tenths of a tenth of a second on the race pace, not one – added the Ferrari driver – this means that the amount of work is considerable, but everyone within the team is well aware of what the situation is. Within the team we don't tell lies to each other and this is why I have full confidence that sooner or later we will complete our pursuit in terms of performance. What I can't do is set a timeline."

Cardile also assures that the limits of SF-23 have been fixed, repeats that it will be a new car and not an evolution.

https://scuderiafans.com/ferrari-2024-f ... een-fixed/

There are also alleged new comments from Sainz about the car in simulator, but I think this is just a rehash from a few weeks ago - new car is different in the simulator and he would like to keep some strong points in 2024 (top speed, 90-deg corners, riding kerbs, acceleration etc) but there may be some compromises to ensure the 24 car is better during every race. I read that as "there will be compromises", I expect this will be related to 90-deg corners and kerbs, in order to shift suspension behaviour towards the one needed to keep the car stable in faster and sweeping corners.

https://scuderiafans.com/carlos-sainz-s ... lator-run/

So overall they already know they made an improvement with the new car. Considering Japan floor improvement, they have an argument to back up these claims. They are rightfully weary of RB20, as they should be.

So far, all of this is very reasonable as far as Ferrari statements (used to) go. I dare say - a positive influence of Vasseur - and a welcome one.

[Xyz22]

Some more details from Leclerc interview

https://www-formulapassion-it.translate ... r_pto=wapp

“I am 100% convinced that we will take a step forward in 2024 – the words of the Monegasque interviewed by the German newspaper Auto Motor und Sport – the problem is that in F1 everything is relative. If Red Bull finds another second we will all seem 'outdone' once again."

“ Compared to Red Bull we have to recover several tenths of a tenth of a second on the race pace, not one – added the Ferrari driver – this means that the amount of work is considerable, but everyone within the team is well aware of what the situation is. Within the team we don't tell lies to each other and this is why I have full confidence that sooner or later we will complete our pursuit in terms of performance. What I can't do is set a timeline."

Cardile also assures that the limits of SF-23 have been fixed, repeats that it will be a new car and not an evolution.

https://scuderiafans.com/ferrari-2024-f ... een-fixed/

There are also alleged new comments from Sainz about the car in simulator, but I think this is just a rehash from a few weeks ago - new car is different in the simulator and he would like to keep some strong points in 2024 (top speed, 90-deg corners, riding kerbs, acceleration etc) but there may be some compromises to ensure the 24 car is better during every race. I read that as "there will be compromises", I expect this will be related to 90-deg corners and kerbs, in order to shift suspension behaviour towards the one needed to keep the car stable in faster and sweeping corners.

https://scuderiafans.com/carlos-sainz-s ... lator-run/

So overall they already know they made an improvement with the new car. Considering Japan floor improvement, they have an argument to back up these claims. They are rightfully weary of RB20, as they should be.

So far, all of this is very reasonable as far as Ferrari statements (used to) go. I dare say - a positive influence of Vasseur - and a welcome one.

Just remember that Cardile statement is based on wind tunnel and simulator data.
Let's wait for Bahrain testing sessions. It will be immediately clear if the car is a significant improvement as it was clear the SF 23 was a disaster.
Still remember my, at the time, pessimistic post. It turned out to be quite on the optimistic side unfortunately

[Vanja #66]

Just remember that Cardile statement is based on wind tunnel and simulator data.
Let's wait for Bahrain testing sessions. It will be immediately clear if the car is a significant improvement as it was clear the SF 23 was a disaster.
Still remember my, at the time, pessimistic post. It turned out to be quite on the optimistic side unfortunately

This is all they have for now, but I'm basing my conclusion on the successful development of SF-23. Honestly, I never expected them to be able to do as much as they did with it. Let's not forget they actually knew how bad the car would be in pre-season simulator sessions, as they admitted recently. So honestly, after learning for an entire year (last races have seen improved setup work, I'd say) which they didn't bother doing in 2022, I believe them when they say they are now on top of the core issues of SF-23 with the 2024 car. I believe Mercedes is on top with their issues as well. That's it, that's what I was referring to. Not lap times, not challenging for the wins or anything (since no one from the team also said so), just that it makes sense for them to have now fully understood those core issues and limitation.

It is also good that both Sainz and Leclerc are realistic and moderate about catching up RB, after the pompous claims in Italian press last year, like 10% less drag for the same downforce levels, 1s a lap faster than 2022 car, etc.

[FW17]

What's the news on Mattia Binotto ? Is he joining any other team or out of F1?

[Vanja #66]

What's the news on Mattia Binotto ? Is he joining any other team or out of F1?

Nothing confirmed yet, seems both Audi and Alpine are the interested parties, unsurprisingly. There may be a scenario where he takes Sainz with him as well, but I think everything is still pretty much in the air.