Ferrari have confirmed that an apparent flaw on their new car spotted in the early running at pre-season testing is "not intentional".
The new Formula 1 season begins in little over a week with the Bahrain Grand Prix on the first weekend in March. But the teams are already set up at the Sakhir circuit for testing, with just three days of running planned between today and Saturday.
In an ideal world, the teams will complete as many laps as they can with minimal disruption and no issues spotted. While the Ferrari quickly shot to the top of the timesheets with Carlos Sainz behind the wheel in the Thursday morning session, it was another part of their running which caught the eye.
TV cameras showed the SF-23 our on track, and eyes of the viewers were quickly drawn to the front wing. Specifically the tip of the nose, there there appeared to be a significant dent in the bodywork.
It was not cause by impact, but rather the air resistance. At high speeds the dent appeared in the nose of the car and duly disappeared whenever the car slowed down for a corner.
There was immediate speculation on social media that this was perhaps a unique innovation from Ferrari, which might somehow provide a performance advantage. But that appeared unlikely, as the appearance of a dent in the smooth bodywork was likely to have a negative effect on its aerodynamic efficiency.
It was soon confirmed by the team that this was not some design masterstroke. The Scuderia said that the bending of the bodywork at high speeds was "not intended", implying that it was caused by a manufacturing flaw on that particular part of the nose. The team is expected to come up with a fix for the issue.
Meanwhile, Ferrari have moved their strategy chief Inaki Rueda to a factory role ahead of the new season. The Italian team's title challenge collapsed last year largely due to a swathe of poor strategy decisions and Motorsport.com reports that Rueda will no longer be on the pit wall.
Ravin Jain has been brought in to replace him by new team principal Frederic Vasseur, who has also clarified his own role. He will be in charge of the drivers, media and sponsors on a race weekend, while racing director Laurent Mekies will oversee the team operation.
