2023 🏁 Formula 1 Season 2023: The Ups and Downs of Ferrari

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Notes for Your Encyclopaedic Build​

This entry now deliberately references:

• Drivers: Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz Jr.
• Senior leadership: Frédéric Vasseur, Mattia Binotto, Benedetto Vigna
• Technical leadership: Enrico Cardile, Enrico Gualtieri
• Sporting figures: Laurent Mekies
• Wider Ferrari context: Antonello Coletta

All are positioned cleanly for internal linking later.

A New Leader, an Old Reality​

Ferrari entered the 2023 Formula One season amid significant internal change and familiar external pressure.

The departure of Mattia Binotto at the end of 2022 marked the close of a turbulent era. In his place arrived Frédéric Vasseur, former Sauber team principal and a figure already well‑known to Charles Leclerc, having overseen his rookie Formula 1 season in 2018. The brief was clear from day one: stabilise Ferrari’s operations, reduce internal noise, and convert potential into results.

On track, Ferrari retained its established driver pairing of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr., entering their third consecutive season together. Continuity in the cockpit, however, could not mask the reality that 2023 would become a year more about damage limitation than resurgence. Ferrari would finish third in the Constructors’ Championship, behind Red Bull and narrowly behind Mercedes, once again falling short of title contention.

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The Ups – Where Ferrari Still Showed Its DNA​

1. Carlo Sainz Jr. and the Singapore Exception​

In a season dominated almost entirely by Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen, Ferrari delivered one moment of outright defiance.

At the Singapore Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz Jr. executed a controlled, tactically astute victory — the only non‑Red Bull win of the 2023 season. Crucially, the result was not built on raw pace but on race intelligence: tyre management, strategic positioning, and deliberate manipulation of the DRS train behind.

The win carried symbolic weight. It demonstrated that Ferrari’s drivers, when aligned with the pit wall, retained the ability to exploit narrow regulatory windows — even against overwhelming opposition.

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2. Charles Leclerc’s One‑Lap Authority​

Across 2023, Charles Leclerc reaffirmed his reputation as one of Formula One’s premier qualifiers.

Leclerc secured multiple pole positions during the season, often placing the SF‑23 ahead of faster race‑trim packages. His qualifying performances frequently masked Ferrari’s underlying pace deficit and kept the team visible at the sharp end of Grand Prix weekends — particularly in Baku, Spa, and Barcelona.

While race‑day conversions remained inconsistent, Leclerc’s one‑lap authority remained a foundational asset for the team and a consistent morale anchor within the garage.

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3. Structural Reset Under Frédéric Vasseur​

Away from the timing screens, Ferrari’s most meaningful progress in 2023 occurred organisationally.

Frédéric Vasseur, supported by Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna, began reshaping internal communication flows and decision‑making processes. Although results did not immediately follow, there was a noticeable shift in tone: fewer public contradictions, less reactive media behaviour, and a clearer separation between performance analysis and emotion.

Vasseur’s insistence on equal driver status early in the season — rejecting formal “number one” designations for Leclerc or Sainz — helped preserve internal harmony during a campaign that could easily have fractured.

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The Downs – Where 2023 Was Fundamentally Lost​

1. The SF‑23: Competitive in Theory, Fragile in Practice​

Ferrari’s 2023 challenger, the SF‑23, never fully escaped the flaws that undermined its predecessor.

Designed under the technical leadership of Enrico Cardile (Chassis Technical Director) and with power unit development overseen by Enrico Gualtieri, the car showed strong peak performance but suffered from:

• tyre degradation sensitivity
• inconsistent rear stability
• limited operating windows

In race conditions, these traits left Ferrari vulnerable to both Mercedes and Aston Martin, particularly during long stints. The SF‑23 could qualify at the front but rarely sustain pressure across full race distances.

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2. Reliability and Lost Momentum​

Ferrari’s season unravelled early.

Charles Leclerc retired from the opening race in Bahrain due to a power unit failure, immediately compromising championship credibility. Subsequent reliability issues and strategic compromises — including exclusions and DNS results — ensured that any early‑season momentum never fully materialised.

These setbacks were especially damaging in a cost‑cap era, where recovery margins are narrower and early deficits compound rapidly.

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3. Strategy: Improved, but Still Reactive​

While Ferrari’s race strategy in 2023 showed modest improvement compared to prior years, it remained reactive rather than assertive.

Under Sporting Director Laurent Mekies (until his mid‑season departure to prepare for his AlphaTauri role), Ferrari reduced high‑profile errors but still struggled to dictate races. Decisions were often shaped by opponent behaviour rather than proactive control — a critical limitation when competing against operationally dominant teams like Red Bull.

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Drivers – Competence Without Leverage​

The Leclerc–Sainz pairing remained one of the most balanced line‑ups on the grid.

• Charles Leclerc: superior qualifying pace, sharper peak performance
• Carlos Sainz Jr.: stronger race management, strategic adaptability

Neither driver underperformed. Equally, neither possessed the leverage required to elevate Ferrari beyond the car’s limitations. The pairing functioned professionally throughout the season, avoiding internal fallout — but the absence of a sustained winning platform muted their collective impact.

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The Wider Ferrari Ecosystem​

Beyond the race team, 2023 highlighted contrast within Ferrari’s broader motorsport operation.

While Formula One results plateaued, Ferrari’s programme in endurance racing — with figures such as Antonello Coletta overseeing the Hypercar project — was laying the groundwork for success that would soon eclipse its F1 counterpart. The contrast sharpened internal scrutiny and reinforced leadership’s belief that organisational discipline, not just technical brilliance, yields results.

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Verdict – A Necessary Holding Pattern​

Ferrari’s 2023 season was not defined by failure — but by limitation.

It marked the first year of the Vasseur era, one focused more on groundwork than glory. The team removed some of its most destabilising habits, maintained internal unity, and proved capable of seizing rare opportunity. What it could not do was challenge Red Bull on even terms.

Historically, 2023 will be remembered not for what Ferrari achieved — but for what it stabilised.

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Discussion Prompts​

• Was 2023 always destined to be a transitional season?
• Should Ferrari have prioritised one driver once wins proved unlikely?
• Did structural reform matter more than on‑track results this year?