Unveiled, Ferrari’s SF23, Charles Leclerc’s Prancing Horse for the 2023 Season
Love for Ferrari, love for and from the fans who in turn show love for Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz …the two aces who are charged to win the Formula 1 World Championship in 2023.
So much love it could be Valentine’s Day. Wait a minute it is Valentine’s Day and the gift for the fans is to see the new Ferrari bolide, the F23 on whose hopes their dreams rest of winning the 2023 World Formula 1 Championship that is soon to get under way.
Of course, there is another hope cherished for 2023 too which is for a Monegasque to win the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix this May. Charles Leclerc could be the first to do it in the modern era, it being more than 90 years since we’ve been able to see a Monegasque on top of the podium.
Louis Chiron was Monaco’s first Formula One driver. He won 21 Grand Prix races including the 1931 Monaco Grand Prix before the World Championship began in 1950. He was 50 when the first World Championship Grand Prix came around and had a points finish with a podium 3rd place at his home race in Monaco in 1950. He did the full 1951 season with the exception of the Indy 500. He is still the oldest person to take part in a grand prix being 55 years old when he competed in the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix.
🔴 Charles Leclcerc a déjà souligné la bonne relation créée au sein de Ferrari par Frédéric Vasseur !
"Il est très clair dans ce qu'il veut et est extrêmement doué pour mettre les gens dans le bon état d'esprit et l'attitude pour donner le meilleur d'eux-mêmes. C'est important." pic.twitter.com/fD4B1YrIw3
— Scuderia Ferrari FRA (@FerrariF1FRA) February 16, 2023
The Red and Black SF23
If only we could see the new car, the SF 23 driven by Charles Leclerc, fly past many winning posts with its distinctive matt red and black colours … together with the fans waving the Principalitiy’s red and white coloured flag. Let one of the victories in 2023 be
the winning post in Monaco with the checkered flag waving furiously.
So what’s propelling this new beast forward … the SF 23 as opposed to the 2022 model, the F1-75. It’s a 1,600 horsepower V6.
And the event starts. Charles Leclerc won a coin toss for the right to show off his driving skills first for two laps of the Fiorano circuit to introduce 2023’s new entry for Ferrari. What a thrill for the onlooking fans admitted to the Prancing Horse’s private circuit in Fiorano Modenese, near its base of Maranello, to unveil there in the presence of its tifosi the SF23. And what a thrill for Charles after having spent hours and hours in the simulator preparing for the new season … Charles Leclerc, current Vice-Champion of the World determined to be World Champion sooner rather than later.
The distinctive numbers 16 and 55 shine in white on the nose and side of the chassis while the historic ‘long F’ logo appears on the rear wing.
Frédéric Vasseur, the team’s new director, was obviously enjoying this outing in his new role; Fred is formerly of Alfa Romeo where he got to groom Charles earlier in the Monegasque’s racing career.
Putting the SF23 somewhat gently through its paces was a joy but soon the chips will be down and the focus will be on actual race speed and performance with the two talented drivers in Ferrari’s ranks. They have the will to win and the skills to achieve their goal of winning the championship. It will certainly not be an easy task because their opponents will have exactly the same objective!
