Marc Gene feels "by starting in P2, Charles could have battled Mercedes and Aston Martin"

Marc Gene feels “by starting in P2, Charles could have battled Mercedes and Aston Martin”. Marc Gene looks back on Jeddah race.

Red Bull’s impressive pace at the Jeddah Corniche circuit, the 6.174 km motor racing circuit built in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, scared the competition. If dominating on one track could have been a coincidence, scoring a second one-two finish on a completely different track is a clear sign that shows Adrian Newey and his team have once again designed a perfect car that will unfortunately most likely go on to easily win both Formula 1 titles this season.

The Austrian side’s opponents now seem disconsolate, considering the RB19 is clearly a step ahead of everybody in the start of the 2023 Formula 1 season. Ferrari also has to deal with this situation: both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz had already labeled the Austrian team as “from another planet”, but the disappointment increased after the Maranello team realized it was the fourth fastest car on the grid in the South Arabian Grand Prix.

When asked to share his thoughts on the Maranello team’s performance at the Jeddah Corniche circuit, however, Marc Gené, member of Ferrari and commentator for SkySportF1, tried to bring a note of optimism to the discussion:

“If Charles had started second, his race would have been different. Ferrari wasn’t as fast as Mercedes and Aston Martin, but they were there within two or three tenths and Charles could have been able to defend against them. Sometimes they had the same pace. Red Bull was unstoppable, especially with the DRS, there is no doubt about that, but Charles could have perhaps fought against the Mercedes and Aston Martin cars” – the Ferrari brand ambassador pointed out.