Ferrari have unveiled their brand new SF-23 car, signalling renewed optimism and hope that they can finally end their 16-year wait for a Formula One world championship. Charles Leclerc, the 25-year-old driver for Ferrari, stated that his only goal for the 2023 season is to win the title. Last year, Leclerc emerged as an early title favourite after winning two of the first three races, but he eventually finished runner-up to Max Verstappen, 146 points behind the Red Bull star. This was due to a number of driver errors, reliability issues and most of all, strategy blunders.
The SF-23 car is certainly a sight to behold, with its stunning design reminiscent of its predecessor. Early reports suggest that Ferrari’s new power-unit will make the SF-23 two-tenths of a second quicker than its predecessor. We will have a better idea of the car’s performance when pre-season testing begins next week.
Ferrari have not had a world champion since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007. In the following years, Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso both came close but the Scuderia have not been able to mount a significant challenge since 2012. With Fred Vasseur now in charge, there is hope that 2023 could be Ferrari’s year. Vasseur stated that the team’s only objective is to win, and that they need to bring the mindset of doing better tomorrow than they did today.
Eight teams have launched their 2023 car so far, with Mercedes and Alpine yet to go ahead of the first race on March 5th in Bahrain. With Charles Leclerc determined to win and a new car that promises improved performance, could 2023 be the year that Ferrari reclaims the Formula One world championship title?
