Ferrari believes the introduction of “new technology” on Red Bull’s brake calipers contributed to the mass weight reduction that inspired its Formula 1 dominance in 2023.
Having won 10 of the last 11 races of 2022, Red Bull stormed to victory in all but one round last season to comfortably retain both championships with several rounds to spare.
Ferrari and Carlos Sainz prevented the reigning champions from claiming a clean sweep in Singapore, but the Italian marque was unable to provide a regular challenge.
With Ferrari pursuing a new car concept for 2024, Cardile has discussed the area of the brake calipers as one domain he considers Red Bull to have stolen a march over the rest.
When it was pointed out to him by Auto Motor und Sport that some teams were rumoured to have been more aggressive with the design of their brake calipers compared to Ferrari last year, Cardile retorted: “I don’t think the other teams have smaller calipers.
“This is a so-called open-source component. If a team changes something, they have to share the CAD design plans with everyone else. We can see them.
“Of course, we also study photos. As far as I can tell, the size of the brake calipers is almost the same for all teams.
“Red Bull has introduced a new technology this year that differs from what Mercedes and we have been using for several years. It may be that these new calipers bring a weight advantage. You have to look at that.
“But whether the part is a millimetre bigger or smaller makes no difference.”
Ferrari’s endeavour to mount a title bid last season was thwarted from the outset by an unpredictable SF-23 car that proved highly susceptible to changes in wind intensity.
Meanwhile, Red Bull’s title-winning charger proved virtually formidable on every track type and Cardile accepts that Ferrari must strive to match that consistent platform.
“Red Bull is the best example of the fact that there is an all-rounder,” he said. “You just have to work hard and have the right goals.”
Despite logging three pole positions in the closing six rounds of the season, Ferrari failed to resist the might of Red Bull and Max Verstappen over the duration of a race stint.
Ferrari concluded the campaign three points shy of second-placed Mercedes, who ended up a considerable 454 points shy of Red Bull.
