If on the first day of F1 testing, Red Bull gave a massive coup of power, showing part of the potential of its renewed RB20, a revolution of the car that swept last season, on the second day of official tests in the preseason in Bahrain, Ferrari. respond by taking on the muscle and surprising with enormous speed in a turn, but at the same time, with a very good long run which means that again, even if it seems impossible, the question arises every year: what if this time Can Ferrari challenge? at Red Bull? Reason says this is not possible. But Ferrari had a sensational day with Sainz leading the day in all aspects.
Red Bull is coming off winning 21 of 22 races last year and sweeping Verstappen as the three-time champion. And on top of that, with Red Bull they are very clear that they have taken an important step forward that is worth taking risks to improve their winning concept.
And on the other hand, Ferrari is the usual suspect that gives high hopes to its fans and to the whole of Italy in the pre-season tests and takes to pages full of enthusiasm in the Italian media around these dates which then ends up on empty paper when the results actually count, or as the campaign progresses. Ferrari haven’t won a driver’s title in 17 years (2007, Raikkonen) and they want to keep trying no matter how hard it is. So far, what has been seen in the red car is encouraging.
Carlos Sainz made it clear that Ferrari is also strong. The Spaniard piloted the SF24 in the afternoon session. There, as the sun went down and the conditions improved, the man from Madrid started showing more cards and nice details of the red car.
First, with a twist. The Spaniard led day 2 of the test with laps he set in attack mode, first with the medium (C3), to put himself ahead, and then upped his ante with the soft tire (C4) to drop below 1’31 for the first time. ” with 1’30″686 and finished with an excellent 1’29’921″, more than a second better than the time achieved by Sainz in the preseason a year ago. It is clear that Ferrari’s step forward is great with your SF24.
But the most encouraging thing about the red car is precisely what its weak point is in 2023. Last year they had a very fast car with a turn that sank the race and had a tire failure. This time, Carlos Sainz ran for a long time with hard tires (C2 and C1) very consistent, no sudden drop in performance, no problems and very fast.
Before that, Sainz warned the press about Ferrari’s development: “The first impressions are positive. The car does what we want after the work in the wind tunnel. It is a more manageable car, with less sensitivity in the wind and more predictability drivability of the car… For me, it’s more on focusing on the long runs,” he said. And he went to them, showing a brutal rhythm. Using C1 rubber, the hardest, he clocked 19 laps in 1’35”, which was like a hammer, and even dropped to 1’34” by the end of his stint. A few hours before, Pérez, with Red Bull, scored 20 laps in a row with C1 in 1’37”, although with worse track conditions. Meanwhile, in C2, Sainz’s speed in the long run was 1’37” and that of Pérez , 1’38”.
It is clear that the speed of the Red Bull should be better than that and an exact real comparison between both cars cannot be made. We will have to wait for the first GP of the year at this same track in Bahrain next week. Until then, everyone kept the cards. And in that game of hide-and-seek, Ferrari would have shown more. What is clear is that the red team has shown a huge step forward in terms of the car. It remains to be seen if that will be enough to fight Red Bull.
For now, Helmut Marko ensured that the superiority of the first day was not true and the difference could be 3 tenths with Red Bull at the top of the grid. For his part, Christian Horner, head of the Red Bull team, said that his car had taken “an important step.” On the other hand, Sainz reiterated that “the big favorite is Red Bull”: “With Red Bull they started probably in April with this year’s car. They are the clear favourites. We don’t know if we will win, I hope . , we hope that this is a car that allows us to fight Red Bull also in the race.” Some relieve pressure and others do the same. The truth will be known in just one week.
Before that, the final day of testing remains in Bahrain this Friday, where everyone can look for more performance at once.
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.
