Frédéric Vasseur believes that the SF-23, Ferrari’s new car, performed well during the test days in Bahrain. According to the Frenchman, it is a good sign that no problems have arisen, and it is good to see that the team from Maranello is close to the lap times of the main competitor, Red Bull Racing. The fact that the drivers are not yet completely comfortable in the car is not a big problem either, the team boss tells the Italian branch of Motorsport: “That’s part of it.”
The Ferrari team boss looks back soberly on the test days in Bahrain, which were held from February 23 to 25. The Frenchman does not want to focus on predictions for the upcoming race weekend and does not want to hear about the ‘pressure’ he must feel at Ferrari at the moment. “We’re just focusing on this year,” Vasseur says. “Looking back at last year is pointless, looking ahead without knowing how it will go is also pointless,” he continues, after which he emphasizes that even after the test days there is not much to say about how the season will go.
Vasseur: “It is logical that the driver still has to get used to the car”
“We haven’t had any major problems in the last three days, so we have a good starting point,” said Vasseur. The Italian racing team puzzled during the test days to create the most efficient car possible, especially with a view to losing downforce as little as possible. “It’s always a compromise,” explains the Frenchman, who had to watch Red Bull set the fastest lap times. “Red Bull made some aggressive choices last year, but it’s still too early to say how this will turn out.”
Furthermore, it was now also the time for drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to make the first real serious kilometers in the Ferrari car. It was especially noticeable that Leclerc was not yet comfortable in the car, while Sainz went a lot smoother. Vasseur is not worried about that. Charles may not be at the top yet, but he was running in very hot track conditions and his performance was good. “We are still in the early stages of the season, that a driver still has to get used to and push, is just part of it.”
