ITALY: AlphaTauri, Aston Martin, and Ferrari are the first to announce their 2023 F1 campaign launch plans; however, Mercedes, Red Bull, and the other teams are yet to announce their respective schedules.
A reputable Italian publication believes they have some early clues about the F1 2023 cars—particularly those expected to compete at the top of the grid this season.
The Scuderia says that the 2023 F1 car, codenamed “Project 675,” will be an evolution rather than a revolution of the F1-75. The F1-75 showed excellent quality despite being overshadowed by many mistakes Ferrari made that ultimately ended their early World Championship bid.
The report says that due to an “aerodynamic concept” significantly different from last year, the 2023 Ferrari F1 car will be narrower, and innovations like a new gearbox will increase the car’s competitiveness.
According to the report, Ferrari’s power unit will produce an additional 30 HP.
The Red Bull car, likely to be called the RB19, will be 3 kilogrammes lighter than its dominant F1 2022 predecessor.
Due to a different arrangement of the suspension components, the gearbox will have a lower profile, broadening the Venturi channels.
The report says the “layout of the sides will continue to maintain strong points of contact with the 2022 vehicle.” However, a refinement of the “double bottom” will characterise the sidepods of the RB19.
As Red Bull planned to introduce a lighter chassis in the second half of the F1 2022 season, rumours of a more lightweight chassis are certainly not new.
A German auto sports publication reported in August 2022 that Red Bull would conduct crash tests on a lighter chassis before its possible introduction for the season’s final six races.
Max Verstappen also mentioned a lighter car to the media at the time. Red Bull boss Christian Horner later denied the case, saying it was simply a rumour.
In September last year, he explained to the media that he was unaware of the origins of such rumours. He added that introducing a lighter chassis is not on the cards.
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