“Mammamia, guys. Mammamia, what a disappointment.” – emotional speaker, executive coach and corporate trainer Luigi Mazzola, a former Ferrari executive coordinator of performance development, also joined the cry of heartbroken Ferrari fans after the first round of the 2023 Formula 1 season in Bahrain, which saw the Red Bull cars of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez take center stage with a one-two finish, as the Maranello team left Sakhir with a fourth place for Carlos Sainz and with the retirement for Charles Leclerc due to another power unit technical failure.
Below you can find the view of the former Ferrari race engineer, who during his Formula 1 career has worked with prestigious drivers like A.Prost to M. Schumacher, N. Mansell, G. Berger, R. Barrichello, E. Irvine, K. Raikkonen, F. Massa and J. Alesi:
Luigi Mazzola’s comment
“But I say, the engine failure – because this is the most worrying thing – where does it come from? There was talk of reliability, but probably (this) engine was never used during the pre-season testing session and free practice. Only from qualifying was the engine really used, the power was brought up and, as you know, you can’t change the mappings. So it’s incredible… I hope there’s just a little problem that doesn’t really concern the engine, otherwise it’s really depressing.” – said an embittered Luigi Mazzola in a video analysis posted on his Instagram account.
Then the former Ferrari race engineer added: “Carlos Sainz is 40 seconds behind Max Verstappen: another world, another category. Ferrari saved itself in qualifying, it’s a situation that can somehow be managed, but seeing that huge gap in the race is something out of the ordinary.” – he continued.
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Focusing instead on Fernando Alonso, Luigi Mazzola pointed out that “he has an extraordinary car, but most importantly he is an extraordinary driver. Overtaking Hamilton is something epic, and then he was also able to pass Carlos Sainz… Aston Martin would probably have passed Charles Leclerc too. I would have liked to see Alonso behind the Red Bulls and what he would have done”.
Finally, returning to Ferrari, Luigi Mazzola says he is hopeful but not too much in view of the near future: “I’m really disappointed and demoralized, we’re too far behind. It’s certainly the first race, there are 22 more to be able to hope and think for the best. But here we need an important in-season development, at the moment we are out. Let’s hope well for the next Grands Prix, that this gap can become smaller due to the layout of the circuits, the set-ups, the developments brought. But Red Bull is on another level, so right now it seems very tough to me.” – Luigi Mazzola concluded.
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