"I believe in Ferrari" - Former F1 driver explains reasons why the Scuderia will fight for the title in 2023

Former driver David Coulthard believes Ferrari will fight for the 2023 F1 world title despite being dominated by Red Bull in 2022. The Scotsman believes the Scuderia's driver-car combination is one that can achieve success this year.

Ferrari looked to be the one to beat in early 2022, with Charles Leclerc taking two out of three race wins in the opening three races.

However, the Maranello-based team soon crumbled as the season progressed due to a string of reliability and strategic issues - not to mention the occasional driving errors from both, Sainz and Leclerc.

Despite their issues last year, Coulthard believes the team will fight at the front once again this year. In the Scotsman's opinion, the unit got stronger towards the end of the season.

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are tipped to battle it out for the title this year given Mercedes' return to form at the end of the year.

In an interview with Mirror Sport, David Coulthard said about Ferrari:

"I believe in Ferrari – not in the mystique but in the lap time. They've had the qualifying world championship [in 2022], and their car has been exceptional. Charles was their lead driver for the majority of the year in terms of being able to exploit that performance and I do feel the car has been coming stronger towards the end of the year."

The Italian team may also benefit from the acquisition of team principal Fred Vasseur, who joined the squad this year.

Ferrari's 2023 car has lost weight: Reports

As per reports, Ferrari's 2023 F1 car has lost weight, perhaps going even below the 796 kg limit. The team had a pacey car in 2022 but failed to sustain a championship challenge against Red Bull and Max Verstappen.

Going below the 796 kg limit will allow the team to add ballast to the car to help improve its balance and performance, should it choose to do so. The Italian team struggled with tire degradation in 2022, leading to stellar performances on Saturdays but poor showings on Sundays.

Red Bull's RB18 was able to manage its tires a lot better than the Maranello-based team's F1-75, leading to frequent race wins for the Austrian team.

Sources suggest Ferrari has developed a new lightweight chassis for 2023 which will help manage its tires and give it a better lap time overall. The success of the team's efforts, however, will not be known until the new car is fully assembled and finds its way to a weighing scale.

There are also reports that Red Bull has managed to create a chassis 3 kgs lighter than the championship-winning RB18. Given the team's reduced wind tunnel testing time, however, it is unclear whether this new chassis will hold up to the rest in 2023.