The three days of 2023 Formula 1 pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir were all for the single-seaters, but inevitably at Ferrari – in addition to the performance of the SF-23 challenger – much of the attention was focused on the new team principal. Frederic Vasseur, who took over from Mattia Binotto in the long off-season that preceded these intense days of testing spent in Sakhir, was in fact making his public debut on the Maranello pit wall, after directing the men from Renault and Sauber for years. Ferrari, however, as we know, has a different charm and media attention.
The French manager must have noticed it immediately, noting the great concern shown by the Italian media and by many fans for the apparently fluctuating performances recorded on the track by Charles Leclerc and Sainz Carlos during the three days of pre-season testing in Bahrain.
The new SF-23 challenger proved to be brilliant over one lap, but still not perfect on the simulated race pace in the long runs, especially when compared with the data recorded by Red Bull. But the confrontation with its direct rivals – above all Mercedes and Red Bull – is precisely what the Maranello team seems not to have sought in any way during these tests. In this sense, Frederic Vasseur was particularly clear when analyzing the three days of activity on the track which ended this evening: “They were three intense days of work for the whole team. We analyzed the behavior of various elements on the car and ticked most of the items on our program without paying attention to the lap times or the others around us, but focusing on ourselves” – said the French manager, as reported by the Maranello team’s official website.
“The main target was getting as much mileage under our belt as possible and we did that, although it’s also true that you always want to do more and have more time. But it’s the same for everyone. Whenever we managed to put everything together the performance seemed to be there, but we are clearly still in the process of getting to know the car so it’s too early to say anything. The mood in the team is perfect and we are in a good shape to start this long season.” – Fred Vasseur continued.
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The first real test bench for the Ferrari SF-23 will be next Sunday, once again at the Sakhir track, where the first race of the 2023 Formula 1 championship will take place.
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