It has been reported by the Italian edition of Motorsport.com that Ferrari are planning on introducing a full ‘B’ car at the Spanish Grand Prix, with the Maranello-based team set to introduce major upgrades in three stages.
The completely new car is expected to be seen in Barcelona for round eight of the 2023 F1 season, in a bid to turn their year around.
2023 has started woefully for Ferrari, with the Italians being the only frontrunning team not to have claimed a podium.
Charles Leclerc was on-track for a podium at the season-opener in Bahrain, until a power unit failure saw him retire from the race.
Want to work in Formula 1? Browse the latest F1 job vacancies
In Saudi Arabia, Ferrari simply didn’t have the pace to compete with Red Bull, Aston Martin or Mercedes, leaving Carlos Sainz and Leclerc to finish sixth and seventh.
The Scuderia again struggled for pace last weekend at the Australian Grand Prix, with Carlos Sainz having finished 12th following a five-second time penalty (would’ve finished P4 without it), whilst Leclerc spun on the opening lap.
As a result of their dreadful start, Ferrari are currently fourth in the Constructors’ Championship and are already 97 points behind Red Bull.
Unless something truly remarkable happens, Ferrari won’t be claiming either title this season.
The major upgrades are likely to support their fight for second in the Constructors’ Championship, with Aston Martin and Mercedes already starting to build a gap to the Italians.
The start of the season certainly hasn’t gone how new team principal Frederic Vasseur would’ve expected, after the Frenchman was tipped to bring some stability to the outfit.
Despite their disappointing start, though, Vasseur believes “the mood is positive” amongst the team.
READ: Celsius agrees Ferrari F1 sponsorship deal
“We are a bit down with all of this,” Vasseur told Autosport.
“But overall, I think the mood is positive, because we did a mega step forward in terms of performance in the race, and we will build up the rest of the season on this. I will be positive and I will push again and again.
“I think overall that we did a decent step forward. Yesterday, we were frustrated after the quali, because we had the feeling that we didn’t put everything together, but the pace was there.”