F1, Ferrari: SF-23 more balanced thanks to shorter nose and lower suspension

The more you look at the Ferrari SF-23 challenger, the more you can see the differences from last year’s F1-75 challenger. Analyzing beyond the striking novelty represented by the bypass duct that the Maranello aerodynamicists have decided to introduce on the sidepods of the SF-23 from the first lap on the track at Fiorano, the car designed by Enrico Cardile enhances a series of adjustments that have been added to achieve some of the project objectives.

The issue of weight was as important as that of balance: the Maranello team worked to reduce mass (the radiators for cooling the 066/7 engine are smaller and the chassis itself has been lightened), while the nose is shorter: it does not reach the main profile of the wing, but is connected to the second element. The nose testifies Ferrari’s focus on saving weight, although it made it more difficult to pass the frontal crash test to obtain FIA homologation, since it has less surface area.

The intertwining of weight gain with aerodynamic and balance needs led Ferrari to change more at the front than it might have seemed at first glance…

“The SF-23 is an evolution of the car we raced last year, but in reality it has all been completely redesigned. In terms of aerodynamics, the objective was twofold: to improve the vertical load by regaining what was lost due to the new aerodynamic regulations and to obtain the balance characteristics that we had set for ourselves” – Italian aerodynamicist Enrico Cardile explained.

“The suspension area has been completely redesigned, on the one hand to support the aerodynamicists in obtaining the results we had set for ourselves, so the geometry of the car has adapted to the new flow structures that have been generated with the new regulations without neglecting the possibility of increasing the car’s adjustment capabilities on the track”. – the Ferrari Head of Aerodynamics Department explained.

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Enrico Cardile explained that the front wishbones of the front suspension which were positioned higher in 2022 have been lowered: “We have gone from a configuration with high track road to a configuration with low track road”, making it clear that the modification serves to laminate the flows in such a way that the arms and can contribute to a recovery of some of the load lost with the pavement of the floor raised by 15 mm.

The issue of aerodynamic balancing has also become important: the new Pirelli front tires have led to an increase in weight of around 1.5 kg (for this reason the FIA has brought the minimum value back to 798 kg which, however, had initially been brought to 796 kg) compared to the 2022 Pirelli tyres, that made it necessary to adjust the weight distribution which is also possible by moving the ballast.