Max Verstappen’s Red Bed Bull in front of everyone with Ferrari, however, rather close. The 2023 season starts where it ended, looking at the first day of the only session (three days) of winter tests scheduled before the start of the World Championship on March 5 with the Bahrain Grand Prix. On the same track, the one in the Sakhir desert, the Flying Dutchman still dominated, showing off an RB19 that was immediately fast and self-confident. Behind the world champion Carlos Sainz who stopped less than three tenths from the rival of the Austrian team in the morning session, then closing the day of practice in third place. Slower was Charles Leclerc who lapped in the afternoon showing worrying problems with the SF-23 jumping in the fast corners, but then finishing at the foot of the virtual podium. Behind the world champion Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin. Fifth time for Norris’ McLaren, sixth for Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes.
ANSA agency
The first impressions of the new Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur are positive during the first day of testing at Sakhir in Bahrain. “It’s a preliminary phase, but the sensations are good. (ANSA)
A day in Bahrain which for Ferrari started with the news of a substantial revolution in terms of strategy in the pits where last year the Prancing Horse showed various limitations. The new Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has established a change at the top of the team’s strategies, promoting the young Ravin Jain, a British engineer of Indian origin, who arrived in Maranello in 2016, pupil of the Engineering Academy of Maranello and former arm right foot by Inaki Rueda. The replacement of the latter is the real news, because the Spaniard was in charge of the tactical area from the beginning of the Maurizio Arrivabene cycle (2015). Vasseur then expressed himself positively on Ferrari’s first day in Bahrain: “It’s a preliminary stage, but the sensations are good. It was important to do the kilometres, we are developing the planned plan – said the team principal of the Maranello team – Ferrari it’s a great team, the sensations are positive and everything went well – explains Vasseur – All the Formula 1 teams have the same DNA, but here the motivation and passion that surrounds the team is more visible. , you are in Italy as in other countries”. The first Ferrari driver to take to the track was Carlos Sainz who, for the first time, is working side by side with Vasseur. The Spaniard was an “old dot” of the team principal: “I was close to working with him at Renault, then I tried to take him at Sauber, but he didn’t want to – he said – Sainz is a solid driver, now we’re together after being been close for a long time. The sensations are good, I’m satisfied with the pair of riders”. Different speech, however, for Charles Leclerc, found by Vasseur after three years: “Now he’s more mature – concludes the team principal of the Reds – So far he’s going well, but he’s done well in any team. We love each other and there’s collaboration”.
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