During the first day of the Formula 1 pre-season testing session at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Ferrari brand ambassador and SkySportF1 expert Marc Gené analyzed the first impressions after seeing the Ferrari SF-23 on track with Carlos Sainz in the morning and Charles Leclerc in the afternoon. Here are some of his most important comments.
“The first impressions are good, the entire team is enthusiastic, as we also saw this during the presentation of the car. Three days of testing may not be enough, but I like it that way, with the teams staying in Bahrain for the first weekend.” – Marc Gené said in front of the SkySportF1 microphones speaking of Ferrari.
The past months have been marked by intense work in Maranello, where the team worked tirelessly on the design of the SF-23. In this regard, the Spaniard stated: “We have tried to do everything possible to evolve and improve the car. Personally I find it beautiful, I like it a lot. Both the color and the aerodynamic design. Now is the time to compare it with the rivals. The track is never wrong, it’s the true judge, even if these tests are still very little indicative” – the Spaniard pointed out.
With the introduction of the new aerodynamic regulations at the beginning of last season, Formula 1 rediscovered the “ground effect” cars and with them the phenomenon of “porpoising”. The bouncing of the single-seaters on the straight has created quite a few headaches for the teams, forcing the FIA to intervene with a technical directive to protect the safety of the drivers. To date, porpoising is less pronounced, but it remains a problem:
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“Obviously, if you compare what we’re seeing today with what we saw in Barcelona last year, it’s another world. In Barcelona there was mind-boggling porpoising, which sometimes forced the drivers to take their foot off the accelerator and rely on the DRS, because when you use the DRS the car is lightened by cushioning the porpoising effect. Now, from these first kilometers that I’ve seen, the porpoising is very controlled. But it’s normal that this is the case, because you start with a car set very high and then you lower it trying to improve performance. In these first laps they are all very high and there is practically no porpoising. We need to see how much lower the car will be able to get afterward. Because whoever succeeds will have an enormous advantage” – Marc Gene explained.
Finally, observing Ferrari in action, he commented: “It will also be interesting to understand how much the turbulence of the car in front will impact. These laps will help Carlos Sainz to understand how the car in front can be followed, also considering that the regulation on DRS has been changed, reducing the amount of meters available.” – he concluded.
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