2023 Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team

[f1316]

The thing about delaying any upgrade, to my mind, is not even so much performance but that you’re delaying obtaining knowledge. If you run something new, there’s every chance you find out that, say, it’s not working quite as expected and you have to go back to the factory and make some tweaks etc. Do you want to know that now, so that it’s ready for Barcelona and has already been tested? Or you want to turn up in Spain and only then find out?

Even if the conditions in Monaco are not the best ones, I’m surprised that they wouldn’t, say, put the new suspension on one car in FP1 to gather side by side data vs the old suspension.

[bluechris]

The thing about delaying any upgrade, to my mind, is not even so much performance but that you’re delaying obtaining knowledge. If you run something new, there’s every chance you find out that, say, it’s not working quite as expected and you have to go back to the factory and make some tweaks etc. Do you want to know that now, so that it’s ready for Barcelona and has already been tested? Or you want to turn up in Spain and only then find out?

Even if the conditions in Monaco are not the best ones, I’m surprised that they wouldn’t, say, put the new suspension on one car in FP1 to gather side by side data vs the old suspension.

And risk a pole position where we all have seen till now that Ferrari have the ability for a single very fast lap?
I think what they do is right. The drivers know what they have in their hands, especially Leclerc and they know how to take everything from it (at least Leclerc even if he bins it some times). Why put an uncertain factor of a new suspension in the equation?
They only need a pole lap in Monaco and they have a real scenario to win their 1st race this year.

[codetower]

The thing about delaying any upgrade, to my mind, is not even so much performance but that you’re delaying obtaining knowledge. If you run something new, there’s every chance you find out that, say, it’s not working quite as expected and you have to go back to the factory and make some tweaks etc. Do you want to know that now, so that it’s ready for Barcelona and has already been tested? Or you want to turn up in Spain and only then find out?

Even if the conditions in Monaco are not the best ones, I’m surprised that they wouldn’t, say, put the new suspension on one car in FP1 to gather side by side data vs the old suspension.

And risk a pole position where we all have seen till now that Ferrari have the ability for a single very fast lap?
I think what they do is right. The drivers know what they have in their hands, especially Leclerc and they know how to take everything from it (at least Leclerc even if he bins it some times). Why put an uncertain factor of a new suspension in the equation?
They only need a pole lap in Monaco and they have a real scenario to win their 1st race this year.

I agree with this, Monaco is likely their best chance. With their one lap pace, and the strategy department looking much better than it has in recent years, it could be their best shot at a win.

[FDD]

What is the goal of GeS in Monaco:
- The eventual 1st win in the season?
- Development of the car?
If Monaco is not a appropriate track for test/development (I don't know) then everything is clear.
Also they know their goals and have the answers, but we don't.
I hope they have a pragmatic approach in making the decisions for Monaco GP actions, regardless what are the decisions.

[organic]

Might as well go for victory at Monaco when you have Charles on your team.. he can wring an extra couple of tenths out of an already quick quali car. Nor have we seen the car in high downforce configuration yet, whilst others (eg amr) have run theirs already.

Monaco, Monza, Vegas, and Singapore are their best and maybe only opportunities

[Juzh]

Might as well go for victory at Monaco when you have Charles on your team.. he can wring an extra couple of tenths out of an already quick quali car. Nor have we seen the car in high downforce configuration yet, whilst others (eg amr) have run theirs already.

Monaco, Monza, Vegas, and Singapore are their best and maybe only opportunities

In vegas it'll be impossible to defend your position so it wont matter if you're Leclerc on pole, in monza it's hard to overtake but not impossible. That leaves monaco and singapore, but it's still ferrari we're talking about here.

[organic]

Might as well go for victory at Monaco when you have Charles on your team.. he can wring an extra couple of tenths out of an already quick quali car. Nor have we seen the car in high downforce configuration yet, whilst others (eg amr) have run theirs already.

Monaco, Monza, Vegas, and Singapore are their best and maybe only opportunities

In vegas it'll be impossible to defend your position so it wont matter if you're Leclerc on pole, in monza it's hard to overtake but not impossible. That leaves monaco and singapore, but it's still ferrari we're talking about here.

I included Monza/Vegas as perhaps Ferrari figures its car out by then, the car seems to perform well at low downforce/rear limited circuits, RB may stop development earlier than others, and Ferrari may be incentivized to turn up the engine for Monza like they did last year.

RB also may have an unsuitable wing for Monza/Vegas - their low df wing is a bit too high df for Monza, and due to their lead they might not bother making one for this season which could bring them within range

[AR3-GP]

Might as well go for victory at Monaco when you have Charles on your team.. he can wring an extra couple of tenths out of an already quick quali car. Nor have we seen the car in high downforce configuration yet, whilst others (eg amr) have run theirs already.

Monaco, Monza, Vegas, and Singapore are their best and maybe only opportunities

In vegas it'll be impossible to defend your position so it wont matter if you're Leclerc on pole, in monza it's hard to overtake but not impossible. That leaves monaco and singapore, but it's still ferrari we're talking about here.

I included Monza/Vegas as perhaps Ferrari figures its car out by then, the car seems to perform well at low downforce/rear limited circuits, RB may stop development earlier than others, and Ferrari may be incentivized to turn up the engine for Monza like they did last year.

RB also may have an unsuitable wing for Monza/Vegas - their low df wing is a bit too high df for Monza, and due to their lead they might not bother making one for this season which could bring them within range

Are we sure about that? The Jeddah wing looks sufficient and with the DRS open, they are going quicker than others with smaller wings. So they get the downforce benefit in the corners which helps the corner exit speed, and the DRS to pass.

[Venturiation]

If the car will be improved with new suspension why delay it? It gives them more chance to win and the have 3 practice sessions to tune it

[Farnborough]

If the car will be improved with new suspension why delay it? It gives them more chance to win and the have 3 practice sessions to tune it

I see it the same, also if they put it on in Imola (if that went ahead) then would they take the updates off for Monaco? I don't think they would do that, unless it was seriously poor.

Speculative assumption about Monaco is toward the same performance against other teams last year, it seems to me, when it looked like Ferrari had reasonably an advantage here. That may not be the same this year, but we'll soon know next weekend.

As noted a few post above, is this development important to their overall performance, or are they just looking for a glory run at Monaco based on previous levels.

It could be looked at with this being good experience for next year when they hope to be challenging for championship again

[AR3-GP]

If the car will be improved with new suspension why delay it? It gives them more chance to win and the have 3 practice sessions to tune it

I see it the same, also if they put it on in Imola (if that went ahead) then would they take the updates off for Monaco? I don't think they would do that, unless it was seriously poor.

Speculative assumption about Monaco is toward the same performance against other teams last year, it seems to me, when it looked like Ferrari had reasonably an advantage here. That may not be the same this year, but we'll soon know next weekend.

As noted a few post above, is this development important to their overall performance, or are they just looking for a glory run at Monaco based on previous levels.

It could be looked at with this being good experience for next year when they hope to be challenging for championship again

It's possible that they think they have a great chance of winning in Monaco with the current configuration and they don't want to faff about with learning the new rear suspension there.

A new rear suspension won't instantly be "faster". It will only be faster once setup properly.

[Farnborough]

Much as I'd like to see a, Ferrari-LeClerc-home town win, a pretty special occasion surely, my mind is split over ongoing development needs rather than a focus on one off performance for this event.

Unless they know it will very specifically drop pace here, the new rear suspension, it still looks short sighted in overall championship aims to me, and ultimately the feed into next year's evolved SF24.

I think there's going to be some seriously quick opposition here this year, with both RB and AM seeming to have considerable performance in hand. Very hard to read before event, but always find quali fascinating in technical performance terms anyway.

[Xyz22]

Much as I'd like to see a, Ferrari-LeClerc-home town win, a pretty special occasion surely, my mind is split over ongoing development needs rather than a focus on one off performance for this event.

Unless they know it will very specifically drop pace here, the new rear suspension, it still looks short sighted in overall championship aims to me, and ultimately the feed into next year's evolved SF24.

I think there's going to be some seriously quick opposition here this year, with both RB and AM seeming to have considerable performance in hand. Very hard to read before event, but always find quali fascinating in technical performance terms anyway.

They already know they won't be in the fight for the WDC. They are almost 1s off in race pace.
Unfortunately i have the feeling that they don't even know why there is such a gap between quali and race trim, considering this happened in 2019, 2020, 2021 and partially 2022 as well.

[LM10]

Much as I'd like to see a, Ferrari-LeClerc-home town win, a pretty special occasion surely, my mind is split over ongoing development needs rather than a focus on one off performance for this event.

Unless they know it will very specifically drop pace here, the new rear suspension, it still looks short sighted in overall championship aims to me, and ultimately the feed into next year's evolved SF24.

I think there's going to be some seriously quick opposition here this year, with both RB and AM seeming to have considerable performance in hand. Very hard to read before event, but always find quali fascinating in technical performance terms anyway.

They already know they won't be in the fight for the WDC. They are almost 1s off in race pace.
Unfortunately i have the feeling that they don't even know why there is such a gap between quali and race trim, considering this happened in 2019, 2020, 2021 and partially 2022 as well.

Those years have got zero in common with the current year. To begin with, it’s completely wrong to compare 2019 to 2021 with the rules we have now and even if they were comparable, it’s not true that Ferrari had a “huge gap” between quali and race pace in those years.

In 2019 they did not have enough downforce overall, but their monster PU compensated their pace deficit in qualifying. Over a race pace it’s not enough to just have a powerful PU.
In 2020 and 2021 there was no particular pace difference between qualifying and race, so I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Last year, they had an excellent car in all conditions, but lost pace as soon as TD39 came. They didn’t just lose race pace, but also qualifying pace.

This year, their problem is that as soon as the car is fueled, it’s not able to generate enough downforce anymore. The solution does not seem to be so easy, but Ferrari know where the problem lies. So again, it’s not true that they don’t know why there is a gap. The updates they’ve started bringing are aimed exactly at solving this issue.

[AR3-GP]

In 2020 and 2021 there was no particular pace difference between qualifying and race, so I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Didn't Leclerc put it on pole in Baku and Monaco in '21? They definitely still showed signs of overperforming in qualifying relative to race pace.