Former Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher believes that Scuderia Ferrari could be able to gradually reduce the deficit to Red Bull during the 2023 Formula 1 championship, but at the same time he feels it is impressive for the Maranello team to challenge Red Bull for the titles this season.
The Austrian side was clearly favourite before the start of the season, based on the impressions collected from the winter testing session, but few anticipated a total dominant display from Red Bull in the Bahrain Grand Prix. Christian Horner’s side began their title defence with an impressive display of strength, with Max Verstappen easily winning the race at the Bahrain International Circuit, ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez.
While the Dutchman finished more than 10 seconds ahead of the Mexican, what is more worrying is the huge gap between the second Red Bull driver and third-placed Fernando Alonso (26 seconds). Scuderia Ferrari had to settle only for fourth place with Carlos Sainz, after the Spanish driver was passed by the impressive Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso, who will likely be fighting for podium finishes this season.
The Ferrari #55 even had to battle Lewis Hamilton to defend his fourth place in the final stages of the race, as the Mercedes W14 car looked to better manage the tyres, despite its own issues in terms of pace. Things went even worse for the other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, with the Monegasque having to retire on lap 41 due to a power unit issue, completing a disappointing Sunday afternoon in the season-opener for the Italian side.
Even without the engine issue, Charles Leclerc would have had to fight Fernando Alonso for the final place on the podium and the Monegasque confirmed that the Red Bull cars were a “second” a lap quicker in Bahrain.
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As a result, Ralf Schumacher predicted another Formula 1 world title for Red Bull this season:
“I don’t think so,” Ralf Schumacher replied when asked if the Maranello team could fight back and challenge Red Bull for the championships in 2023″ – “I think it will take too long [to close the gap] and that Red Bull will time is already out of the picture unless, of course, there is technical bad luck. I would like it, but I fear that this will be a relatively boring season. It will revolve around two fighting team-mates.” – he added in a discussion reported by Formula 1’s YouTube channel
The ex-Formula 1 driver, currently a Sky Deutschland pundit, pointed out that not even Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin will be able to keep up with Red Bull. Despite the fact that Fernando Alonso was third at the Sakhir circuit and Christian Horner described Aston Martin as the “second strongest team”, Ralf Schumacher feels they still have a lot to improve and a lot of experience to gain before being able to fight for the titles:
“I’m sure there will be races where they can’t get all the potential out of the tyres. We must not forget that it is still a relatively young team. In addition, even Alonso cannot do everything with that car. They have to compete against an experienced Red Bull. That team has grown due to the battle with Mercedes . That process is ahead for Aston Martin. What I noticed was that Alonso was very strong at the end of the race with less fuel. The potential is there.” – Ralf Schumacher concluded.
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