Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has shared that the team’s engineers “still see a lot of potential” in the SF-23, despite the Italians having endured a miserable start to the 2023 F1 season.
Ferrari certainly weren’t expecting to start the new season as badly as they have, with the Italians having already faced poor performances and reliability problems.
In similar fashion to 2022, the bulk of the issues seem to be affecting Charles Leclerc more than Carlos Sainz, with the Monegasque having already retired from two races this season.
Leclerc retired in Bahrain whilst running in third after suffering a power unit failure, whilst he span on the first lap in Australia after being hit by Lance Stroll.
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In between his two retirements, Leclerc was able to finish seventh in Saudi Arabia, where he had shown strong pace.
Leclerc qualified second at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit but started 12th, following a 10-place grid penalty.
He had a 10-place penalty after his car was fitted with a third set of control electronics, after his two legal sets failed in Bahrain.
Ferrari definitely do have some pace in the SF-23, there issue currently is simply extracting its full potential.
Vasseur confirmed that the engineers at Maranello are happy with the current concept with it making “sense” to introduce upgrades around it, which could be a game changer for the Italians.
“They still see a lot of potential in this car. It makes sense to develop it further,” said Vasseur, as reported by Auto Motor und Sport.
Ferrari were meant to be bringing a huge development to the Spanish Grand Prix; however, it’s been reported that the Scuderia will introduce the upgrade in Imola, something which will delight their home crowd.
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Ferrari’s big problem currently is tyre wear, something which sees them have to reduce their pace during the race.
When their engine is turned up to its maximum, Ferrari are close to Red Bull when it comes to one-lap pace, something which was common last season.
If Ferrari can solve their tyre wear issues then they should find themselves second in the pecking order; however, it will also depend on what upgrades Aston Martin and Mercedes introduce.