Reports coming out if Italy suggest Ferrari's 2023 contender is at least a second quicker than its predecessor.

While the claim is based purely on simulator work it will give hope to the tifosi, drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz and all those who want to see Red Bull given a run for its money this season.

Formu1a.uno quotes sources in Maranello who claim the new car is "at least" a second quicker than the F1-75 that finished runner-up in the team standings and helped Leclerc finish runner-up to Max Verstappen in the Drivers' Championship.

The biggest gains are said to come from the power unit, with Ferrari having spent the winter focussing on reliability.

Having won two of the opening three races last season things were looking good, however, poor reliability combined with a number of woeful strategic calls saw the Maranello outfit lose its initial impetus.

By season end the Italian team did well to hold off an ever improving Mercedes, but it was still not enough to allow Mattia Binotto to keep his job, the Italian having been replaced by Frederic Vasseur.

With an engine freeze in place, the only changes that can be made to the engine relate to reliability, safety, cost saving and minor changes in order to allow the power unit to be installed correctly. Improvements cannot be made to the performance of the engine.

Meanwhile, having previously refused to sign a pre-agreement relating to the 2026 engine regulations, Ferrari is said to have had a change of heart.

The Maranello manufacturer was particularly perturbed at Red Bull Powertrains being regarded as a new manufacturer from 2026, despite currently having the use of Honda's intellectual property.

However, having been excluded from the recent meeting to discuss the 2026 rule changes, Corriere dello Sport reports that Ferrari has had a change of heart and signed a pre-agreement with the FIA.

While the 1.6 litre V6 format will remain, the highly expensive MGU-H has been scrapped, as F1, in its quest for sustainability targets the sole use of sustainable fuels and increased electrical power.

"The power unit regulations are out and published," says F1's chief technical officer, Pat Symonds, according to Motorsport Week, "they're not finished, we're now really tidying up.

"The chassis regulations we have been working on for a while now," he continued, "a couple of years on some basic layout, but on January 25 we've got a big meeting in Geneva with all the teams, and that's the first sort of real interaction where we sit down and we say 'here are the concepts we want to bring into '26' and we start getting their views on that.

"End of January is when we really turn our attention to spending a lot more time with the teams themselves."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by didaho, 20/01/2023 10:46

"Bit weird to achieve a more powerful PU by targeting reliability but hoping that's accurate.
Also "MGU-H has been scrapped, as F1, in its quest for sustainability" has the makings of a fine non sequitur."

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2. Posted by alvarezh3, 19/01/2023 15:42

"It is customary by now, that every year most of the teams lower their lap times, therefore, I will not expect Ferrari to run away from the rest of the field. RBR or MB could quietly have their contenders be faster than 1 second.

As every year is being the case, we have to wait until the second or third race of the season to know each team's true speed.

I don't see a reason for Ferrari to be jubilant..........yet!"

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3. Posted by kenji, 19/01/2023 14:09

"I cerainly hope that that is correct. I would love to see Ferrari duking it out with Red Bull. The first race cant
come quick enough....."

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Ferrari said to have gained "at least" a second

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