Instead of chasing an out-and-out performance gap between itself and Red Bull in all conditions, it had to figure out why it seemed to be close to its rivals in qualifying but far ahead in the race.

There’s no straight answer, because this isn’t a simple case like Mercedes, which realized its concept wasn’t working and needed to go in another direction.

That’s why so far we’ve only seen minor revisions made in the first part of the season. However, these are enough to give us some clues about the top of our to-do list.

While the team has been working on a new rear suspension, which will now be introduced at the Spanish Grand Prix, in Miami, Ferrari introduced a revised floorpan and diffuser, as well as numerous changes up and down the assembly.

Some changes were made to the leading edge geometry of the floor, with the steeper outer part of the floor (blue arrow, inset) abandoned in favor of a shallower drop where it meets the perimeter rail.

This results in a more pronounced bulge at the rear of the fence on the down-ramp portion of the floor (highlighted in yellow). The shape and height of the rear edge of the floor rail in front of it has also changed as a result.

The change in curvature affects the behavior of the airflow on the top surface. But, perhaps more critically, it also changes the space available below the floor, and the shape of the floor rails may also be optimized to further enhance the effect.

In response to the aforementioned changes, the various surface profiles used on the floor edges have also changed.

The upward scrolling swirl sections, cutouts and rearward tire taper have all been carefully redesigned to take advantage of the changes ahead of them, while also being mindful of issues with tire spray.

Ferrari SF-23 new floor details, 2022 comparison illustration

photographer: George Piola

Interestingly, while some of Ferrari’s rivals have made extensive changes to this area of ​​the car, adopting the more pronounced outer edge wing design adopted by Maranello early last season, it hasn’t gone backwards.

Instead, Ferrari stuck to design decisions made during the 2022 season to accommodate the rule changes imposed on the team this season.

In this regard, Ferrari seems to prefer a more benign platform than one that risks lack of consistency in pursuit of maximum performance.

With the changes made to its floor and diffuser, it is clear that the team is prioritizing further improving the balance of the SF-23 and providing the driver with better aerodynamic stability in the low, medium and high speed cornering range .

To take advantage of the changes made to the upstream floor, Ferrari has also slightly revised the diffuser, as the team revised the shape of the central aft section, extending the keel back, similar to the update introduced by the Scuderia during 2022.

Ferrari SF-23 diffuser

photographer: George Piola

And, while we could see a lot of changes, there’s always one area of ​​interest when it comes to floor updates: flooring.

Unfortunately, given the scale of the other changes, we couldn’t see if any changes were made, but it would be understandable if the team optimized in this area as well.