Ivan Capelli reflects on Ferrari's performance in testing and 2023 Red Bull duel

Italian former Formula One driver Ivan Capelli was interviewed by OASport and shared his thoughts on the upcoming Formula 1 championship. The ex-Ferrari driver, who is now a commentator for Sky Sport Italy, described Red Bull as “totally in control of the situation”, arguing the Maranello team “will have to play the role of pursuer” against the 2022 world champions based on what could be seen in the three-day testing session at the Bahrain International Circuit last week.

Ivan Capelli was also asked about Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz and made a prediction for a possible surprise in the 2023 Formula 1 season. Here are some of his most important comments:

Ivan Capelli’s analysis
“Right now they (Red Bull) seem to me to be in total control of the situation. They’ve decided how to work to try and take full advantage of the new features of a car that in any case proved to be a winner last year” – explained Ivan Capelli, referring to the work done by Red Bull in the pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Then he added: “With Sergio Perez they have focused their attention on trying to keep him constantly closer to his teammate, in order to win the World Championship as soon as possible. They are the team to beat without a doubt and it will be difficult to do better than them this year.” – the new Sky Sport commentator added.

As we anticipated, Ivan Capelli believes that “Ferrari will have to play the role of pursuer”. In this regard, he explained: “In terms of the fastest lap, the car is close to Red Bull, but it is undeniable that at this moment the race pace is still lacking a bit”. As for the drivers, however, he underlined Charles Leclerc seemed rather nervous after seeing what was going on in the testing session, stating “it almost seems that he feels the weight of being the first driver, I hope this doesn’t lead to him making too many mistakes”. There was an opposite feeling for Carlos Sainz who appeared to him “aware of his strength”.

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Then he continued: “Charles Leclerc will have an advantage in general: this year he will work with someone who will not make life difficult for him, as had been the case in the last year, but who will instead comply with his requests. Carlos Sainz will find new motivations”. In general, Ivan Capelli feels that “both drivers will be protagonists and will be more involved when it comes to deciding the strategy: an aspect on which Ferrari unquestionably had difficulties last year” – the former Formula 1 driver pointed out.

Lastly, his opinion on Mercedes and the prediction for the surprise of the year: “Mercedes is developing some things compared to last year’s project […] It is probable that during the course of the year it will have two-three concrete opportunities to winning races, but I don’t see them fighting for the World Championship. A big surprise? I would say Aston Martin and not only because an expert and competitive driver like Fernando Alonso has arrived there, as who immediately showed that he still has it. But also because a technical director has arrived from Red Bull (Dan Fallows), from the Adrian Newey school, who immediately sorted the matter out and showed everyone that the car could be competitive” – Ivan Capelli concluded.