The F1 2023 season has already kickstarted, and Ferrari seems to be on the back foot. The Prancing Horse has been reasonably off the pace shown by reigning champions Red Bull Racing during both pre-season testing and the two practice sessions that have so far taken place in Bahrain.
Interestingly, the early signs also suggest that Red Bull Racing may have a new challenger. Aston Martin has so far been neck and neck with the reigning champions during both practice sessions.
Even though it seems that Ferrari has some ground to cover, team principal Fred Vasseur seems unperturbed, and he gave an interesting reason for the same.
Fred Vasseur reveals why he’s not worried by Ferrari’s lack of pace
While speaking to the media (as quoted by f1i.com) about Ferrari’s expectations after pre-season testing, team principal Fred Vasseur replied that the early signs have been good and that the side is well prepared for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
He then also added why he was not too concerned by Ferrari’s lack of pace as compared to their rivals. “This will be the Championship with the most races ever, so no matter what the result, the title won’t be won or lost in Bahrain,” he explained.
Vasseur’s reply is interesting as even though Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc won the Bahrain Grand Prix last year, neither the team nor the Monegasque came close to winning the titles at the end of the season.
Regarding the Drivers’ Championship, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen (454) beat Leclerc (308) by 146 points. On the other hand, Red Bull (759) beat Ferrari (554) in the Constructors’ Championship by a whopping 205 points.
With Ferrari losing their way last season despite showing early signs of optimism, they will know very well that the season is long and that they can also fight back if they were to not get a positive result in Bahrain.
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Ferrari is way off the pace in Friday’s Free Practice Sessions
Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Perez set the fastest time in FP1 with a 1:32.758. He was +0.438s quicker than Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and +0.617s faster than his teammate, Max Verstappen.
In stark contrast, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was +1.499s slower and managed only the fifth-fastest time with a 1:34.257. His teammate, Carlos Sainz, seemed to have been struggling with the car as he was the slowest.
A similar scenario was also witnessed in FP2. Alonso set the fastest lap time with 1:30.907. He was +0.169s quicker than Verstappen and +0.171s faster than Perez.
While Leclerc (+0.460s) was much faster in FP2, he still seems to have some ground to cover to get to the top three. The same cannot be said about Sainz, who was still +1.049s off the pace set by Alonso.
Also Read: Formula 1 Trolls Max Verstappen For ‘Maxsplaining’ Things to Charles Leclerc
