“I don’t expect miracles for this weekend”. Word of Charles Leclerc who prepares for the Australian Grand Prixthird round of the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship. “The car is different from last year’s. We always did well in qualifying. in the race our car is more difficult. I think we’ll be close in qualifying, but I think in the race it will be similar to the other races.” But the Monegasque driver doesn’t give up. “There’s a lot to work to bring the Red Bulls closer together – added Leclerc -. We know we have a lot of work to do, but we also have a clear idea of what we need. As we have seen, in qualifying configuration the car is competitive while in the race it loses performance due to the sensitivity of the single-seater to varying external conditions. The team is motivated and determined to fight and the season is still very long.”
Sainz: “The SF-23 was born with a concept problem”
A similar position is that of the other Ferrari driver, Carlos Sainz. The first two races in F1 showed that the SF-23 was born with a “concept” problem and in Maranello work has already begun to renew the aerodynamics. But it will take time and the results will not be seen for a few months. Carlos Sainz, speaking to Brand, has drawn a picture that does not foresee a newfound competitiveness of Ferrari in the short term, compared to Red Bull and Aston Martin. This is beyond the package of improvements planned for Baku (fifth race) or Imola. Nonetheless, the Madrid-born driver believes that good results can still be achieved by intervening on the current car.
“Red Bull got it right and we didn’t”
“When someone has Red Bull’s advantage, you have to say it’s a bit of a concept problem (of the car, ed). Red Bull got it right and we didn’t… I think we got a little carried away by last year’s one – said Sainz – because it was very fast on the flying lap… But already at the end of 2022 it was clear that we were one step behind Red Bull in the race and this year, perhaps, the change in regulation (higher fund) has caused more damage to our car and we have to start looking in another direction”. A profound change would therefore already be planned, but the improvements will not be quick. “We have seen this in the last three weeks. First you have to analyze the data and it is one thing to start testing in the wind tunnel, another to start producing the parts and quite another to be able to bring them to the race. We are aware that not it will be a solution of one or two races or one or two months. It will take time,” concluded Sainz.