Ferrari tech chief reveals how 2024 car will address SF-23 shortcomings

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Dutch Grand Prix

Ferrari tech chief reveals how 2024 car will address SF-23 shortcomings

Enrico Cardile offered thoughts on modified design for next season

Lauren Sneath

Monday 28 August 2023 16:57

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Ferrari’s technical director has insisted that the ‘shortcomings’ of the team’s 2023 car will not be repeated next year as he explained how it will be 'designed differently'.

The SF-23 has taken Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc on something of a roller-coaster ride so far this season, with neither performing as well as in 2022.

While race wins and pole positions saw the team mount a challenge to defending champion Max Verstappen last season, the team couldn’t continue that momentum this year.

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The best Ferrari performances have come from Leclerc, who achieved third place at the Belgian Grand Prix and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and took second place at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Enrico Cardile, the team’s technical director, has now confirmed that the car in development for 2024 is ‘designed differently’ in order to extract more performance.

Ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, Cardile told Sky Sports Italia: “We have identified the shortcomings of the 2023 project to fix and not to repeat. As a team, we are responsible for putting on track a product that can win and give us the satisfaction we have been chasing for years.”

Cardile suggested that now the team has identified the gaps in performance in the SF-23, the next car will have modifications to fill those gaps.

Cardile: 2023 car development was limited

He explained: “It was immediately clear in the tests what the gaps were and what was missing to have a competitive car. The correspondence with the simulator and the wind tunnel was good from the start, and with the analysis after the tests, we came to a conclusion.

“The problem is no longer to understand what is missing but to bring to the track as soon as possible a car that recovers the gaps that have the SF-23.

“During the development of this car, we realised that with the architectural choices made in continuity with the previous year's car, we had limits to improve the car.

“Next year's car is designed differently: it will be a car with a chassis and a rear end different from the ones we have this year, and everything is aimed at allowing the aerodynamics to extract the performance we lack in the current car.”