In the early stages of last season, Charles Leclerc and Ferrari looked to be the favourites for both championships under the new regulations.
The Scuderia came flying out of the blocks in Bahrain with a one-two finish and built up a healthy lead in both championships, making it almost certain that the team would finally end their title drought.
Unfortunately for the team, their power unit proved to be a major part of their downfall, as Max Verstappen and Red Bull eventually cruised to both championships with races to spare.
Not only did the Honda-powered Red Bull prove to be quicker than the Ferrari, it was also much more reliable, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz being forced to retire from multiple races.
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The Scuderia eventually were forced to tone down the power of their engine to try and make it more reliable, leaving the team some way behind their rival.
Heading into the 2023 season, Carlos Sainz has expressed his confidence in Ferrari’s power unit matching Red Bull’s, with the SF-23 set to be a competitive car this year.
“I don’t know the engine mode they’re running and the exact rear wing compared to us, but I’m pretty confident we’ve done steps in the right direction in that sense,” he said.
“Part of the evolution of our car is to also try to be less draggy, and try to get close to Red Bull on the straights.
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“I hope we can be close. Are we going to be quicker or not, or the same, or be able to battle them on the straights? We don’t know.”
Teams are currently not allowed to develop their power units unless it is to improve reliability or save money, meaning that there is only a limited amount that Ferrari can do to match the Honda-powered Red Bull.
With the engine regulations undergoing a major change ahead of the 2026 season, teams are working hard to ensure that they enter the new era as competitive as possible, with Red Bull even ditching Honda to become powered by Red Bull Ford.