F1 team introductions: with a new boss and a more reliable car, Ferrari is eager to make up for last year’s mistakes. Can they win the title?

The new Formula 1 season is already knocking on the door and it’s high time to introduce the ten teams that will compete in it. In this episode, we’ll focus on the only team that has been involved in the championship since its inaugural season in 1950 – Ferrari. After finishing second in the Constructors’ Cup last year, the legendary Italian team has a clear goal: victory.

Ferrari in the 2022 season

Ferrari had a fantastic start to last season. After the first three races, all indications were that the Italian stable would seriously challenge for its first title since 2007. The only one who matched the red monoblocs in terms of speed was Red Bull, whose monoblocs recorded 3 DNFs in the opening three races of the season.

But then came Red Bull’s dominant streak. The Austrian stable won six races in a row (five of them by Max Verstappen). During those six races, Charles Leclerc did take pole position four times, but he didn’t convert any of them into wins and only once did he stand on the podium.

Ferrari were dealt a severe blow first in Barcelona when Leclerc retired from the race due to mechanical problems, having led by more than thirteen seconds. It was after this race that Red Bull and Verstappen took the top positions in both championships.

The second blow then was the withdrawal of both cars from the Azerbaijan VC. After repeated problems, Ferrari was forced to reduce power unit output in order to finish races with confidence. The title fight became a battle for second place with Mercedes.

Although in the end Ferrari was nowhere near the title, the Italian stable took a huge leap forward from the 2021 season. This year, however, they won’t be content with second place.

A change of team boss and strategy director

The Maranello-based stable has decided to make a change at the head of the team after a disappointing end to last season. Mattia Binotto has been replaced by Frédéric Vasseur. The fifty-four year old Frenchman held the same post at Alfa Romeo until then.

As expected, there has also been a change of strategic director. Iñaki Rueda was criticised many times during the season for his performance in this position. In fact, Ferrari often lost points after strange strategic decisions, such as in Monaco, when both drivers of the team were called to the pits at the same moment.

Rueda, who will move to a different role directly at the factory in Maranello, will be replaced on the pit wall by Ravin Jain. The 26-year-old Indian-born Briton has been in the world of Formula One since 2013 and has been working directly for Ferrari in the strategy team for almost seven years.

Design SF-23

Ferrari has not given up on its specific concept car. Not surprisingly, last year’s F1-75 took twelve pole positions, so pure speed was not Ferrari’s problem.

At first glance, the new car looks very similar to last year’s. The wide, bathtub-like side skirts remain in the modified version. However, the head of the chassis production department, Enrico Cardile, described the major changes in the car’s construction to the official F1 website.

“Our car for 2023 is an evolution of the one we raced last year, but it’s actually completely redesigned. From an aerodynamic point of view, we have increased the vertical downforce to comply with the new regulations while achieving the required characteristics for the balance of the car.”

This year’s car also has a very different front wing to last year’s. The new design is reminiscent of the front wing that Mercedes tried to fit to its W13 during the season. At that time this wing was not in accordance with the rules and was banned by Mercedes, this year thanks to new rule changes Ferrari was able to use the design.

But the most important development has been in the power unit. Ferrari desperately needed to improve its reliability, and Vasseur believes his team has succeeded in this difficult task. The monoblocs should be able to be set up for full performance again as they were in the first part of last season.

When it comes to colour, there is never any doubt with Ferrari. The iconic red is complemented this year by more black detailing, like most teams it will try to save some weight on the paintwork. The rear wing will carry the Ferrari badging, the same as seen on last year’s special edition car for the VC of Italy, but this time in white instead of yellow.

The driver line-up remains the same with no designated number one

Ferrari has made no changes to the driver line-up. Just like last year, the team will not start with a clearly defined team leader. Vasseur wants to support both drivers equally until it is necessary to help one in the Drivers’ Cup.

Although Carlos Sainz fell well behind Leclerc last year, he believes he will be a balanced partner for him in the new season. According to him, he was not yet ready to fight for the title and he was also not comfortable with the way the car had to be driven.

With the new monopost, he hopes to find his form again and return to the consistent performance that saw him beat Leclerc in 2021.

Source: F1, Motorsport, RacingNews365, Scuderia Ferrari