Explained: What Ferrari's floor upgrade says about its 2023 F1 development direction

Every F1 team, including Ferrari, is now bringing its first set of upgrade packages for the 2023 F1 season. While some are focusing on peak performance, others are staying safe and improving reliability. The Italian team from Maranello brought a new floor and diffuser system back to the Miami GP.

The new floor was mainly designed to change the airflow behavior on the top surface of the floor and also the available pocket of space in the underfloor beneath.

The side parts of the floor also had upward-rolled sections that further changed the airflow around the area and the aerodynamic characteristics of the Ferrari SF-23.

By observing the floor upgrades brought in for the Miami GP, it is clear that Ferrari has not gone back to the floor concept they had at the start of the 2022 F1 season, which several other teams are implementing now.

Instead, they have continued the same development timeline from last year, stuck to their new floor concept, and simply evolved it to suit 2023 F1 regulations.

This tells us that the Italian team is going for a much safer development route. Rather than unleashing peak performance at the risk of losing consistency, they are focusing on improving the SF-23's balance and stability through low, medium, and high-speed corners.

Ferrari is currently fourth in the constructors' championship with only 78 points. They have taken a massive step back compared to 2022, where they finished second.

Even after the floor upgrades in Miami, both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were unhappy with how unpredictable the car has become as its handling changes with different tire compounds.

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F1 journo feels Ferrari's upgrades could shine in the Spanish GP

Italian F1 journalist Roberto Chinchero feels Ferrari's new upgrade packages coming to the Spanish GP could be a huge step forward for the Italian team.

He explained how they could have had some issues gauging the upgrades in the Emilia Romagna GP due to weather conditions. Hence, the Spanish GP can be the key point.

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Chinchero said:

"I think there is something in the new aerodynamic, but the big part will be in Barcelona. I think Barcelona is the key point, the turning point, and I think that it's better because Imola of course, the forecast will not help.

"If it's raining, it's not helping. If you want to judge how good is the new update at the same time, there is a different qualifying system. So I think Barcelona would be the turning point."

Of course, it was recently confirmed that F1 will not be going ahead with the 2023 F1 Emilia Romagna GP since the entire region was flooded and had adverse weather conditions.

Hence, we could see every team, including Ferrari, bring all their upgrades either to Monaco or Barcelona.