Formula 1 Dutch GP
Sainz: Understanding "very peaky" F1 car Ferrari's main focus for 2023
Carlos Sainz has said getting on top of Ferrari's "very peaky car" is now the Formula 1 team's top priority to avoid a repeat of its inconsistencies in 2024.
Filip Cleeren
Edited: Aug 25, 2023, 5:57 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Ferrari has struggled from the start of 2023 with excessive tyre wear paired with a lack of consistency in its race pace.
That meant the Scuderia has struggled to convert its often-impressive qualifying speed into sustained race pace over a full grand prix distance.
The team has been restricted to just three podiums, all through Charles Leclerc, who took two of his top three berths after falling back from pole.
It kicks off the second half of the season in fourth, five points behind Aston Martin and 56 behind Mercedes.
According to team-mate Sainz, who has yet to replicate his season-best result of fourth from the opening race at Bahrain, Ferrari now has a grasp of its car's core problems.
But understanding its wild inconsistencies is now a top priority, so the issue doesn't carry over to the 2024 project.
He conceded that the SF-23 is still a "very peaky car" which has made it very confusing for the team to predict which circuits it will perform well at.
"The core problem of the car, we do understand what it is," Sainz said, ahead of this weekend's Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.
"Since the first developments of the year, we are trying to get it better. And the whole development programme has been focusing on improving that main weakness that we have.
"I think it's no secret now that this year we've lost like some consistency from the car.
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
Photo by: Ferrari
"It's very difficult to predict which circuits we're going to be quick on and which we're not going to be quick.
"There's the wind sensitivity, there's the track temperature sensitivity that we have, which at the moment makes it a very peaky car.
"The best example was the difference between Hungary and Spa. We expected Hungary to be a good weekend, we expected Spa to be a weaker one.
"And it was actually the opposite, which shows that there is maybe something intrinsic that we don't fully understand and we cannot predict very well."
Sainz explained that Ferrari is now using every Friday practice session over the remaining 10 races of this year to experiment with its set-up to find more answers that can help the 2024 car.
"We've done 12 [races], we still have 10 to fully get to understand everything," the Spaniard added.
"This unpredictability, this lack of understanding is exactly what we are focusing on now to try and piece together everything. And this is where our focus is going to be this weekend and obviously, in the second half of the season.
"Every weekend in F1, FP2 we are trying something different to try and understand these regulations and try to see where we may be lacking compared to obviously the reference Red Bull and how we can make the 2024 car quicker.
"I think we're doing a pretty good job of trying completely different things and having different theories that we're putting together for next year's car. Hopefully next year it pays off."
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23
Photo by: Erik Junius
Team-mate Leclerc pointed out that Ferrari is not the only team to go through dramatic form swings this year, meaning that if the Italian squad can get on top of its inconsistencies, its results could improve dramatically amid a tight battle behind the dominant Red Bulls.
"For now, the short-term goal is to improve our consistency because if you look the first part of the season, you look McLaren, Mercedes, Aston Martin and ourselves, then everybody is really inconsistent," he said.
"One race, it's McLaren that is going to be on top by quite a bit and the other race is going to be us or Mercedes that is going to be on top.
"If we manage to find what we have in the car that gives us the consistency to always be on top of our game, this will give us a big upper hand compared to the other teams, so that's where we need to focus on at the moment."
Additional reporting by Matt Kew
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Bottas: Sauber F1 will become “more corporate” under Audi
Next article Russell: Wrong to call 2023 F1 season a failure for Mercedes
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Filip Cleeren
Five key takeaways from F1's big African Grand Prix reveal in Rwanda
Formula 1
Formula 1
Five key takeaways from F1's big African Grand Prix reveal in Rwanda
F1 signs historic 10-year Rwanda deal to host African Grand Prix
Formula 1
Formula 1
F1 signs historic 10-year Rwanda deal to host African Grand Prix
More from
Carlos Sainz
Lewis Hamilton: Younger F1 drivers are “more and more cautious” about racing in rain
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Lewis Hamilton: Younger F1 drivers are “more and more cautious” about racing in rain
What the drivers are expecting from F1's return to Sepang
Formula 1
Formula 1
Bahrain GP in Malaysia
What the drivers are expecting from F1's return to Sepang
More from
Ferrari
Ferrari promotes F2 racer to F1 reserve driver role
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Ferrari promotes F2 racer to F1 reserve driver role
The six drivers doing double duty in Portimao GTWCE and Barcelona WEC this weekend
WEC
WEC
Barcelona
The six drivers doing double duty in Portimao GTWCE and Barcelona WEC this weekend
Latest news
Catching Larson in the NASCAR Chase has to start at track where 'I suck'
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
16 min
Catching Larson in the NASCAR Chase has to start at track where 'I suck'
Verstappen charges from 24th to ninth as GetSpeed wins Portimao GTWC finale
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
WCEE GT World Challenge Europe Endurance 1 h
Verstappen charges from 24th to ninth as GetSpeed wins Portimao GTWC finale
Colton Herta “maybe underestimated the difference” from IndyCar – F2 boss
FIA F2
F2 FIA F2 5 h
Colton Herta “maybe underestimated the difference” from IndyCar – F2 boss
WEC Barcelona: Genesis secures maiden series pole from Toyota
WEC
WEC WEC
Barcelona
6 h
WEC Barcelona: Genesis secures maiden series pole from Toyota
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe