In the second free practice session for the 2023 Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix in Sakhir, which offers similar circumstances to those that drivers will encounter tomorrow in qualifying conditions, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was fourth fastest, while his Maranello teammate finished outside the top ten.
Charles Leclerc’s best lap time was almost half a second slower that Aston Martin pacesetter Fernando Alonso and 0.3s in arrears of 2022 title opponent Max Verstappen before teams continued their programme by focusing on race stint simulations.
While Charles Leclerc believes that it will be difficult for Aston Martin to keep its P1 tomorrow, the Ferrari man is aware that the Maranello team cannot challenge for pole position in Bahrain:
In his post-practice interview he told F1 TV: “I don’t think we have the performance maybe for pole. It’s still early days. I maybe think that Aston is a bit quicker than they will be tomorrow. We don’t know. It’s just what I think.” – he explained.
Charles Leclerc feels the Maranello team had “most work to do” in finding the ideal setup for the SF-23 car in terms of race pace but hopes “there’s a bit of margin” to improve.
At the same time, Charles Leclerc pointed out a positive aspect, namely the fact that the Ferrari challenger seems better-behaved as compared to what he experienced during the pre-season testing session last week, when the Monegasque driver faced understeer issues while trying various set-ups.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
He added: “Let’s say that the feeling is better than testing. On my side in testing, it’s been very inconsistent in the way we run the car because we were testing a lot of things, so I didn’t have much time with the car to my liking. I did today.” – the Ferrari driver conceded.
Carlos Sainz, meanwhile, did not seem at ease with the SF-23 car, even suffering a big spin in the first free practice session, explaining that he found himself “struggling a bit more with the balance”.
The Spaniard said: “Simply the car is not exactly responding, as I expect or as it did in testing. I’m struggling a bit more with the balance. It’s a bit more out of place compared to where it was. But we’re having a good look at it. We expect to put it back together for tomorrow.” – Carlos Sainz concluded.
Leave a Reply