Charles Leclerc lacks confidence in the SF-23 and its handling, a fact he outlined throughout a difficult weekend in Zandvoort. The Monegasque attempts to find the car’s limits, but he explains that inconsistent feedback prevents this.
Ferrari started the year with some relatively promising speed in Bahrain, albeit not enough to challenge Red Bull.
A DNF in Bahrain, grid penalty in Jeddah, Pole Position in Baku and second DNF in Australia made it difficult to gauge Leclerc’s raw potential in early 2023.
It was clear that Red Bull and its RB19 were superior, but the Maranello team seemed to have something to build upon. Unfortunately, the situation became more complicated.
After a tricky weekend in the Netherlands, Leclerc emphasised the challenge of finding an optimal set-up:
“We’ve had a very difficult balance and a very difficult car to drive all weekend.
“We definitely need to look into it because we’re struggling a lot with the car balance especially – it makes it very difficult for us.”
Leclerc provided additional feedback about his Zandvoort experience:
“At the moment, I’m getting into a corner, and I have zero idea whether I’m going to have huge understeer or huge oversteer,” The Race quotes him as saying.
“And that makes it very, very difficult for us.”
A completely new package has been promised by Ferrari for 2024, with technical director Enrico Cardile hoping to correct the inherent weaknesses from this season.
There will be a few updates to the SF-23 in the next nine rounds, but a significant overhaul over winter will be required to make a drastic step forward.
In fact, the remaining changes planned for 2023 are not necessarily to generate more performance. Instead, they are designed to help the transition to next year’s concept.
For the sake of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, the Scuderia finds answers for the start of next season.
Author: Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
