Fernando Alonso led the first day of training of F1 Bahrain GP 2023 and showed a race speed that was almost equal red bull of Verstappen. He has been postulated as a good candidate for the second or third position on the podium on Sunday, with Verstappen as a great favorite with all. However, the question is whether Ferrari and Mercedes will be able to step up and beat Aston Martin in qualifying this Saturday and whether they will show better race pace on Sunday to fight for the podium against Fernando Alonso. And judging by the statements of Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)neither the stars nor the Italians believe they have good weapons to fight the box of Silverstone.
“Aston Martin is 2nd and we are third or fourth”
“We discovered we were too far away.” Lewis Hamilton made that clear for himself on Friday after finishing 10th on the first day of free practice at the Bahrain F1 GP. “I’ve tried everything out there, but the difference is huge. It is what it is. We just have to work at it.”added the 7-time world champion, pointing out the concept of a continuous car, almost without sidepods, which Mercedes chose to keep for the second year in a row.
Last year, the starting base was even worse, with a car that had a lot of problems and a big bounce in the straight that is now gone. Despite this, they were able to improve a lot throughout the course and in the latter part of the championship they joined the fight, even achieving the double in Brazil. A year later, nothing prevents us from thinking that Mercedes, with a better starting car, will again be able to fight for victories across the course. But in this first race, Hamilton doesn’t think it will happen.
“I have to be hopeful, there was good progress over the past yearbut the difference was not as great as it is now. Do I think we can close the gap at some point? Yes, but I think it’s a bit difficult with the concept car we have.”he added, perhaps putting pressure on the team to change its sidepods, something that could happen with a supposed upgrade that Mercedes is already rumored to have in place for early in the year.
“I think I have the car in the best place I can set it up. We’ll keep tweaking little things here and there, but it’s going to be little millisecond things, it’s not going to close a one-second gap.”he commented.
“Aston Martin looks second and us (Ferrari and Mercedes) between third and fourth”said the British emphatically.
Leclerc, pessimistic in Bahrain
Charles Leclerc is also pessimistic regarding Ferrari’s performance in this first round in Bahrain, waiting to see if the car behaves better on the next, very different tracks.
“I don’t think we have the necessary performance to fight for pole position”said the Monegasque. However, he believes Aston Martin performed better than it will today in qualifying. “It’s still early. I think the Aston Martin is a bit quicker than that coming into Saturday. We do not know. That’s all I’m thinking”, completed. Only Red Bull seem to be in a better position than Aston Martin and Alonso
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
