Vasseur after good start in Bahrain: 'Now make the most of it'

Frederic Vasseur is at the start of the new Formula 1 season and that as team boss of Ferrari. A unique feeling, according to the Frenchman, who is especially looking forward to his team's performance.

Ferrari begins a new era in 2023 under Vasseur's leadership. The former Alfa Romeo team boss has to give Ferrari another world title, after Mattia Binotto failed to grab it in 2022. While Vasseur has been around in F1 for a while, he does describe in Ferrari's press release that this is a special season for him.

Pressure on Vasseur

In that respect, it is good news for him that the season has started well. During the winter test, Ferrari showed strength. The SF-23 was fast over one lap and very reliable. Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc drove a combined 416 laps. "Testing was good and the three days last week showed that the car is matching our expectations and now we need to continue fine-tuning in order to get the most out of it."

That starts with the Bahrain Grand Prix. In 2022, Leclerc won that race for Ferrari, but during the season Ferrari lost the development battle to Red Bull Racing. This year, Ferrari wants to start as well again, but then to provide a good start with a good follow-up as well.

"We know the track pretty well, but the changing air and track temperatures, as well as changing wind conditions, plus the new Pirelli tyres will make it very tricky to get the set-up of the car right, but both Carlos and Charles collected a lot of data during the three test days, so we should be well prepared for a good weekend," Vasseur concluded.