“The main target was getting as much mileage under our belt as possible and we did that, although it’s also true that you always want to do more and have more time. So being markedly slower than Red Bull on identical tyres in the final session will have done little to further boost their confidence – nor will the signs they have suffered more from tyre degradation than their closest rivals. However, Leclerc and Sainz want to win this season – not just races, but the championship.
Team mate Carlos Sainz Jnr pointed out the team has made clear progress on improving its car’s straight-line performance, raising hopes that they will challenge Red Bull for kings of the speed trap this season.Īs their title charge was derailed by reliability problems, three trouble-free days will have helped calm the pre-season nerves. Charles Leclerc finished his programme midway through Saturday with the fastest time anyone had put in up to that point. Not that Ferrari endured a bad test – not by any means. Now, Frederic Vasseur has assumed control of the team – but he won’t be feeling quite as confident about their chances of repeating their Bahrain Grand Prix success based on what he saw in testing.
Gianpiero Lambiase, head of race engineering FerrariĬombined testing laps: 417 – 2,256km (3rd)Ĭharles Leclerc: 1’31.024 (4th) – 199 laps (13th)Ĭarlos Sainz Jnr: 1’31.036 (5th) – 218 laps (6th)įerrari could hardly have been happier with their 2022 pre-season, following which they stormed to their first win in over two years at the opening race and took a second just two rounds later.īut all that momentum faded away over the rest of the year and Mattia Binotto forfeited his position as team principal for it. It has been a positive three days for the team, but there are always areas for improvement, and the focus will be on trying to extract more performance gains before next week. Such instant speed, coupled with no notable reliability problems, will strike genuine dread into the hearts of Ferrari, Mercedes and the rest of the field before the season has even begun.Ī very successful end to the test with another day of uninterrupted running. Verstappen casually strolled out of the garage and immediately beat his best time from the first day with his very first timed lap. It was warranted, as they went quickest two out of the three days of running including Sergio Perez setting comfortably the fastest time of the test on the final day – better than Charles Leclerc’s pole time from last year’s Bahrain Grand Prix.īut the most ominous signs came at the start of the second day. The champions burst out of the gate with supreme confidence. And after pre-season testing, the clear favourites to kick off 2023 as the team to beat once more. Winners of 30 of the last 50 grands prix contested. It’s a good life, being a member of the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team. Red BullĬombined testing laps: 413 – 2,235km (5th) Here is your guide to how testing went for all ten Formula 1 teams – and how they each feel about their own performance during the pre-season. But that does not mean that some teams will not be feeling more encouraged than others about their new cars heading into a whole new season.
#Red bull running challenge drivers
To prepare for F1’s longest-ever season, the 10 teams and 20 drivers have only been afforded a single three-day test – at the circuit where they will race next weekend.Īs ever, it is near-impossible to establish any kind of ranking of the teams from how each of them chose to spend their three days of track time.
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