There is immense disappointment at Scuderia Ferrari after the Bahrain Grand Prix, the first round of the 2023 Formula 1 season which took place yesterday in Sakhir. And it could not be otherwise, given that Charles Leclerc was forced to retire when he was in third position and that Carlos Sainz only crossed the finish line in fourth place. What hurts the most, in addition to the one-two finish for Red Bull, is that the retirement of the Monegasque was registered due to a power unit reliability problem, one of the key issues that the Maranello team claimed to have resolved up to a week ago.
The new team principal, Frederic Vasseur, described what happened to the #16 car at the Sakhir circuit as a shock, while the Monegasque driver understandably became the protagonist of an outburst that leaves little room for interpretation. Most of the Italian press also expressed great bitterness. This is the case, for example, of well-known Italian journalist Leo Turrini, who in his usual post-race analysis described the Scuderia as worthy of the “The Golden Tapir” (a small golden statue which represents a special “prize” usually delivered to big celebrities or politicians who have been humiliated or defeated). Below is an excerpt of his considerations.
Leo Turrini’s analysis
“It’s worthy of the Golden Tapir. An euphemism. Whoever reads me is aware that I didn’t expect anything magical in Bahrain. But no. This is too much. Ferrari was too bad to be true. Maybe. I’ll say right away what I consider the worst thing in the Red Disaster in the Desert: the engine failure”, Leo Turrini began in his article for the newspaper.net.
Then he continued: “But how?!? I go to lunch with Fred Vasseur and the nice Frenchman assures me that unreliability will no longer be a problem. And everyone tells me that, not just Fred. And then in the first race of the season Carletto stops on the track. How can I not tack about the Golden Tapir?” – the Italian journalist added.
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Another problem for Scuderia Ferrari is tire degradation. A problem that Leo Turrini defined as “unfortunately less surprising”: “Here a solution has not been found. It was seen in the pre-season testing session. And giving up on fighting for pole position represented only one thing: a statement of impotence. Incidentally. If the car goes like this (i.e. slower than the Aston Martin of the legendary Spanish Highlander), well, at least let’s try to have fun on Saturday, if we can” – he continued.
How can Ferrari improve the situation this season? It’s a very difficult question, to which Leo Turrini answered by saying: “I don’t know. There are 22 other races, okay. But it’s not that Ferrari has recently impressed for its developments during the season. Fred Vasseur speaks of shock. Charles Leclerc, poor fellow, looks like a child who has been announced that Christmas will never come. Carlos Sainz must accept that he has a slower car than his uncle Alonso.”
A final comment: “All we can do now is cry. Or, let’s stick to superstition. One year ago in Sakhir, a one-two finish for the Reds and a double Red Bull retirement. This time, a one-two finish for the energy drink and Ferrari clinging to a sad fourth place. Maybe it will happen again. But I don’t believe it will happen again.” – well-known Italian journalist Leo Turrini concluded.
