Ferrari launch their SF-23 car from Maranello, with Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz and new team boss Fred Vasseur all present; Scuderia aiming to go one better in 2023 after finishing second behind Red Bull last season; Leclerc: "Our Valentine is our new car"
Tuesday 14 February 2023 23:29, UK
This is the car Ferrari hope will end their championship drought in 2023.
The Scuderia revealed the SF-23 from their legendary Maranello base with drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, as well as new team boss Fred Vasseur and other senior management all present.
"Our Valentine is our new car," said Leclerc as a red and black car was revealed, with the latter colour a common theme of this launch season with teams looking to save wait.
Both drivers then hit the nearby Fiorano circuit for the car's first laps.
Ferrari are aiming to go one better this year after improving to second place in the championship last year behind Red Bull following two years of wallowing in the midfield.
F1's most successful and iconic team haven't won a championship since 2007 and failing to claim either the constructors' or drivers' crown this year would make it their longest-ever drought.
Hopes are high, though, for this season.
Leclerc, while ultimately falling well short of title-winner Max Verstappen, proved his front-running credentials last year and successfully led the Ferrari team, while team-mate Sainz also won his first race.
The pair are expected to be more closely matched this year.
There is also optimism about the new management structure, with Vasseur - formerly of Alfa Romeo - replacing Mattia Binotto.
Binotto, a long-term Ferrari employee, helped bring the team back to contention with his technical nous although the team were consistently wanting operationally, with a number of high-profile strategy errors last year.
The car is the eighth to be revealed so far this launch season, with only Mercedes and Alpine yet to unveil their latest challengers. Mercedes are launching their car on Wednesday, and Alpine on Thursday.
Pre-season testing is on February 23-25 in Bahrain before the season begins at the same track with the Bahrain GP on March 5.
Testing as well as every practice, qualifying and race session will be live on Sky Sports F1.
Ferrari openly admitted last season that they stopped developing their 2022 car to focus on the SF-23, with their performance on-track suffering as a result. By the end of the year, Mercedes were often Red Bull's closest rivals rather than Ferrari, who started the campaign on top.
In encouraging news for their fans, they say their new challenger has been "completely redesigned".
"On the aerodynamic side, we increased vertical downforce, to adapt further to the new aero regulations and achieve the desired balance characteristics," said head of chassis Enrico Cardile. "The suspension has also been redesigned, to support aerodynamics and increase the range of adjustments that can be made to the car at the track.
"The most obvious changes are in the area of the front suspension where we have moved to a low track rod. The front wing is also different, as is the construction of the nose, while the bodywork is a more extreme version of what we saw last season."
All drivers and management are clear on their objectives: claiming both championships.
"Our focus will soon shift to another aspect, which is its speed and performance," said Vasseur. "We have two talented drivers who are both eager to win and have the skills needed to achieve this.
"Our objective is to win the championship, which will not be an easy task as our competitors will have exactly the same target in mind. We have to bring the right mindset with us and always work on being better tomorrow than we are today."
Sainz added: "This car is the result of the passion and hard work of everyone in the team during the past months and it certainly looks like another step forward.
"Our goal cannot be other than to keep pushing forward and trying to bring home more race wins, being competitive and fighting for the world championships."
There are two more 2023 cars to be revealed, starting with Mercedes tomorrow (Wednesday, Feb 15) at 9.15am.
You can watch the launch live on Sky Sports F1 and our social and digital channels.
