Triumph can’t be had without struggle. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have struggled to tame the beast named SF-23. Ferrari is left in the gray as the RB19 is running away from the grasp of the SF-23. The SF-23 is a demanding beast, and the Scuderia isn’t able to regulate its hunger.

During the race, the Ferrari was seen struggling at Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GP. The raw pace is there within the SF-23 but the car eventually falls behind during the race. The Maranello-based team struggles with its tires. Longer runs with heavier fuels make the tires overheat even in clean air. The problem is emphasized when following another car, as the dirty air demands the following car to use more rubber.

This was noted during the Saudi Arabian GP, where there Ferrari was quicker in the qualifying but was not able to overtake the Mercedes during the race after the safety car restart. The Aston Martin and Mercedes look quicker than the Ferrari in the race trim, with an advantage of around 2-3 tenths. Red Bull is in a league of its own, being more than a second ahead of Ferrari.

According to motorsportmagazine.com, Carlos Sainz said “We still ‘deg’ more than the Mercs, we still deg more than the Astons, we still lack a bit of race pace.” further adding “On the hards, I was pushing flat-out, Charles was pushing flat-out behind me and we just couldn’t keep up [with the Mercs]. I think this is just the true picture. The Merc and the Aston had maybe two- or three-tenths on us today but the Red Bull, at beginning of the stints, they have a second like in qualifying and then it opens up even more even on a good tarmac like here.”

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The Sf-23 is a hungry beast that devours its tires even on a track like Jeddah, where tire wear is usually not an issue. The Ferrari is the second-fastest car on one-lap pace, but unless the Scuderia is able to find the right balance, they’ll keep falling backward during the race.

Does Ferrari still have hope for the 2023 season?

Ferrari will be bringing some updates to the Australian GP. Frederic Vasseur brings in a new mentality and continues to push the team. Rather than thinking about its competitors, the Ferrari Team Principal believes in focusing on themselves. Ferrari knows what the weakness is, which is a significant positive since they know what problem needs to be solved. There will be about a month-long break between the Australian and the Azerbaijan GP giving Ferrari a half-decent chance of making inroads on the Red Bulls.

According to Skysports.com, Frederic Vasseur said, “We have to continue to push. It’s not the right attitude to think about the gap and whether we can close it. We have to be focused on ourselves, but we know where we are weak and have to improve on it.”

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Do you think Ferrari will be able to solve its tire wear problem and come out on top?