The d.s. of the redhead also commented on the problems suffered in FP1 by Leclerc with the new rear wing, which will probably be set aside
Charles Leclerc confident, Carlos Sainz doubtful
Friday practice at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir was the first real outing of this very long 2023 Formula One championship and provided a contradicting response for Ferrari. There were some smiles for Charles Leclerc, who finished fourth in the timesheets behind the usual Red Bull cars and above all an increasingly impressive Aston Martin driven by Fernando Alonso; on the other hand some question marks for Carlos Sainz, who after the spin suffered in FP1 was unable to shine even in the second session, with a best lap time that was more than a second slower than the benchmark of Fernando Alonso in the qualifying simulation, finishing an anonymous 14th place.
Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies shared his thoughts put on how the Maranello team’s Friday went in Bahrain.
Interviewed by Sky Sport F1, the French engineer first spoke of the new rear wing which the Italian side tried to test in the first free practice session at the Sakhir circuit on the SF-23 car of Charles Leclerc.
Clearly there is still work to be done on this component and its use has been postponed for now. However, it is not excluded that it could be seen again on the SF-23 already in the next race weekend, in Saudi Arabia: “That rear wing is a development project – explained Laurent Mekies – exactly like other elements on the car which perhaps with the naked eye can be seen less. I don’t think we will use it this weekend, you too have seen that it needs more development work. But you will see her again soon. Perhaps in Arabia, perhaps in Australia“. – the French manager continued.
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Aston Martin danger
Looking at the performance of other teams, a question about Aston Martin’s performance was inevitable, a real surprise in this pre-season testing session. Laurent Mekies did not want to go too far, however positioning Ferrari in a sort of ‘wide field’ behind Red Bull which also includes – but not only – the AMR23s of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. “Aston Martin? We believe it is part of the group with us, Mercedes and maybe also others who are very close. However, I don’t want to judge them before qualifying and the race “, he concluded.
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