Ferrari has arrived at Melbourne with the awareness of not having sufficient means to counter the Red Bull, which comes from two braces in the opening races, but which above all has shown that it has a clear advantage over its opponents. The SF-23, which should try to recover at least Aston Martin for the role of second force, has potential, but extracting it is really difficult and between road accidents and penalties Charles Leclerc has achieved very little compared to the two victories and three podiums of the season opening in 2022.
A linear weekend
The first two races were also marked by unfortunate episodes. A pick up and an uphill start given by penalty for the change of control unit. Not that the Reds' problems are limited to that, especially in the race. In Maranello we are still trying to understand what the origin of this slowness is, and how to solve it by relying on updates. Despite the premises, the Monegasque is confident, and he hopes to be able to get more answers thanks to a more linear weekend. Victory for Charles, which he obtained right here a year ago perhaps in one of the best moments of his entire career, still seems far away. But contrary to press claims that would not make it any less motivated.
"I don't want to dwell on the past because after the victory a year ago the season was quite difficult and for this reason too it seems to me that a moment is perhaps further away than that weekend in Melbourne actually is - Said Charles Leclerc at the press conference in Australia – we're far enough away to think we can win, but that doesn't mean we won't give it our all. I'm satisfied with how I'm riding at the start of the season, I want to continue like this and get a good result. I'm happy to be back in the car and will try to get the most out of it, I have no problems in terms of motivation, I am extremely motivated”.
Updates are in preparation
The season has just begun, as has the work to make the SF-23 a single-seater worthy of the name of the team it represents. But above all capable of holding a candle to the RB19. The first updates important ones are in the pipeline, and Charles also confirms it. "We have a lot of innovations under construction in the factory that will be brought to the track in the coming months and that should help us close the performance gap that currently divides us from our goals". The goals are the same ones listed at the start of the season from Vasseur i.e. the drivers' title and the constructors' title.
As for the date on which we will see the updates, we are not yet certain. There was talk of an SF-23 "B" already at Imola, but Charles remained rather vague. "There isn't a precise date for the debut of these innovations because they are working so hard in Maranello that this date is constantly brought forward from week to week. The team is really pushing hard."
Source statements: FormulaPassion
