Ferrari may stir up controversy even before the first laps of pre-season testing after equipping the new SF-23 with a front wing with Mercedes’ banned Austin design.
Mercedes arrived at last year’s U. S. Grand Prix with an all-new front wing, but it didn’t go beyond the pit lane.
The wing caught the attention of Mercedes’ rivals because it featured five new stabilizers that had a more aerodynamic design and met the spirit of the regulations.
According to Sky Sports journalist Ted Kravitz, rival sets felt that the “slotted dividers were passing through airflow conditioners around to create a washdown”.
“It’s not allowed,” he explained, “one of the old furniture in the front wing that directed the airflow in the direction you were looking to put it” is no longer allowed.
It breached Article 3. 9. 8 of the F1 Technical Regulations which limits the option for those parts to provide an aerodynamic boost.
As such, Mercedes did not use the wing in Austin but, after “an exchange with the FIA”, as Toto Wolff put it, a revised edition was in the car’s first Friday practice at the next race in Mexico.
A few months later, attentive enthusiasts saw that Ferrari’s new SF-23, which was unveiled Tuesday at the team’s Fiorano circuit, sported a very similar design.
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It also had space dividers between the front wing grooves aerodynamically, but according to reports this year, the design could be legal this season after the FIA removed the word “primarily” from the regulations.
According to Motorsport. com, as part of the revised technical regulations for 2023 that were published in early December, the FIA got rid of the keyword that said those corners should be “primarily” for mechanical, structural or measurement reasons. .
“As long as the groove area splitters provide a ‘structural connection’ between the consecutive front wing profiles and meet strict measurement requirements, they are now completely legal, no matter how much aerodynamic improvement they provide. “
The front wing, however, is the only difference between the new Ferrari and last year’s winning car.
“Our 2023 car is an evolution of the one we raced last year,” Ferrari chassis boss Enrico Cardile said. “But, in reality, it has been redesigned.
“Aerodynamically, we have greater upforce, to adapt more to the new aerodynamic regulations and the desired balance characteristics.
“The suspension has also been redesigned, to improve aerodynamics and enhance the diversity of adjustments that can be made to the car on the track.
“The maximum apparent adjustments are in the front suspension, where we switched to a low link. The front wing is also different, as is the construction of the nose, while the frame is a more excessive edition than we saw last season. “