The 74th Formula 1 World Championship season starts this weekend with the Bahrain Grand Prix. The 2023 Formula 1 campaign will the longest ever, as 23 events are scheduled to take place this year on four continents. The 5.412 kilometre-long Sakhir track is a very familiar one for the teams and drivers given the fact that it was used twice in the same season in 2020, while it has also been the venue for the official winter pre-season testing in the last few years.
Ahead of the first round of the 2023 Formula 1 championship, Ferrari team principal was asked about the mood in the Maranello team, the expectations for the Sakhir event and the challenges posed by the Bahrain International Circuit. Here are the French manager’s comments in the Ferrari official race preview:
The start of a new season is always a very special moment. What is the mood in the team?
Fred Vasseur: “I’ve had this feeling quite often in my career, but I have to admit, this time it’s extra special. I can feel the passion not only from every single employee in Maranello, but also from the tifosi – and it only took me a couple of months to get infected by this passion and excitement. We can’t wait to get the season started”.
What are your expectations for this race, taking into account last week’s pre-season test?
Fred Vasseur: “Testing was good and the three days last week showed that the car is matching our expectations and now we need to continue fine-tuning in order to get the most out of it. One thing is clear: 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”.
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What can we expect this weekend in Sakhir from a technical point of view?
Fred Vasseur: “We know the track pretty well, but the changing air and track temperatures, as well as changing wind conditions, plus the new Pirelli tyres will make it very tricky to get the set-up of the car right, but both Carlos and Charles collected a lot of data during the three test days, so we should be well prepared for a good weekend”.
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