The most intriguing changes Ferrari has made to the SF-23 F1 car

But while it may stick to the core philosophy of the F1-75, there are some fascinating areas of development that the Scuderia has focused on. 

Starting with the sidepods, this has been a focus of all the car launches so far this season, with most of the field gravitating towards a variation of the Red Bull design that proved to be successful last season.

Ferrari has, as you’d expect, retained its own concept though, albeit with the bathtub solution thoroughly re-engineered to deliver more performance.

As part of these changes, the gills, which had previously provided a continuous set of outlets along the sidepod and engine cover’s surface, have been split into two distinct sections, with the rearmost set into their own interchangeable panel.

This will provide the team with a way to change the car’s cooling parameters without the need to carry multiple large pieces of bodywork around the world.

Perhaps the most interesting addition in this region is the side duct that’s positioned alongside the trailing leg of the halo and which extends the width of the chassis as it widens beside the cockpit (blue arrow).

It’s unclear if this is simply an additional cooling outlet or whether it has more of an aerodynamic function which is powered by an inlet that’s been cleverly hidden away beneath the main sidepod inlet.

This can be found in the undercut region, where there’s also a vertical baffle beside the chassis (inset, blue arrow). This creates an inlet that’s either connected to the aforementioned side duct in a similar fashion to how the ‘S’ duct used to create a conduit for the airflow around the nose or, it is simply a way to enhance the overall cooling capabilities of the sidepod.

Ferrari SF-23. detail

Photo by: Ferrari

The shape of the main inlet has also been revised, while further effort has been made to increase the depth of the undercut, with the lower side impact protection spar’s tip exposed and a bodywork blister used to cover it.

The mini step undercut that parades around the bottom of the sidepod’s flank also appears to have been enlarged, enabling better passage for the airflow towards the rear of the sidepod assembly, where a low-line cooling outlet can be found en route to the coke bottle region.

The central section of the car is littered with new fins and winglets, some of which take inspiration from what other teams ran last season.

But there are several new additions too, with…