MADRID, 14 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Ferrari team has presented this Tuesday the ‘SF23’, the new single-seater with which the Spanish Carlos Sainz and the Monegasque Charles Leclerc will face the Formula 1 World Cup in the 2023 season, a car with a continuous design that both drivers have been able to test against the excited ‘tifosi’.
In a massive event in Fiorano, the private Ferrari circuit in Maranello (Italy), presented by the Spanish Marc Gené -one of the team’s testers- and inaugurated with the Italian anthem, the transalpine team unveiled the car with the one they hope to win the World Cup again, which has resisted them since 2008 -since 2007 the Drivers’ Championship-, and compete with Red Bull and Mercedes.
The new ‘SF23’, with the characteristic Ferrari red and with black as a secondary colour, presents a line very similar to last year’s car, with the classic pool-shaped pontoons that surprised in 2022.
In addition, as was the case with the ‘F175’ at the Italian Grand Prix last season, the rear wing will carry the team’s name, this time with white letters instead of yellow, something that will remain throughout the course.
Both Sainz and Leclerc have already been able to get into the car to the delirium of the fans present in Fiorano. The Monegasque was the first to lap on the Italian track, doing two laps before the impatience of his teammate. “You are P1!” joked the man from Madrid on the radio to the laughter of the current runner-up in the world.
“I’m very impatient. It’s the day you’re most nervous, but it’s a good thing,” confessed Sainz, who later got on the ‘SF23’ to do three laps around the circuit and complete the 15 kilometers allowed by the regulations. Both offered their first feelings to the engineers as soon as they got out of the car. This Wednesday, they will carry out the ‘shakedown’ also in Fiorano.
“Everyone has seen the car, it’s even more beautiful, and that last year it was already one of the most beautiful on the grid. You have to do an installation lap, test that the brakes work well, see how the car sounds. engine, feel the traction… You start to feel things from the car,” said Sainz.
“Today there are the people who are going to be in Bahrain. We have a mix of people, it is a day in which we start to learn about the car. Even if it is only 15 kilometers, they are very important. All the drivers have to be ready,” he added. .
For his part, Leclerc acknowledged that he had done “a lot of work on the simulator.” “Last year we took a step forward by finishing second in the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships. Now the goal is to win,” he said.
The Frenchman Frédéric Vasseur, who is making his debut as Team Principal of the ‘Prancing Horse’, replacing Mattia Binotto, was excited about the new project. “It’s a great responsibility and a great honor to lead this team. The launch of a car is always emotional, a great job has been done. When you go back to the track it’s like when you go back to school,” he said.
On which driver to bet on to aspire to the championship, the French leader recalled that “the important thing is that Ferrari win.” “The engine is frozen so we could only touch them for reliability reasons. The engine is the heart of the car, and when we first started it last week it was very exciting. Last year we didn’t have the best engine look, but now we are ready for the season,” he warned.