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Max Verstappen was so superior last season that catching up with the two-time champion of the Formula 1 resembles climbing a mountain, even for your teammate Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez with the same Red Bull Racing car.
It was exactly what Charles Leclerc de Ferrari did to face the challenge, underway from this weekend with the start of the 2023 season with the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir.
The 25-year-old monk climbed the Italian Dolomites as part of “extreme training” that put him “completely in tune” to face Verstappen, his rival since they competed in kart racing.
It remains to be seen if it is something that could make a difference when competing against Verstappen, but apparently in the pre-season tests, perhaps it was useless since the two Red Bull drivers set the fastest times.
Ferrari will seek not to make the same mistakes with its new boss
The French Frederic Vasseur replaced Italian Mattia Binotto as technical director at Ferrari, whose relationship with Leclerc had become very strained.
“What should I expect from Fred? He is premature, but I have to say that it has been impressive how quickly he got in tune with the team,” said Leclerc, who previously worked with Vasseur at Sauber. “He immediately felt at ease and understood what a team like Ferrari is.”
Without criticizing Binotto, he alluded to the need for change. “It is very good so that everyone can meet the ideal conditions to get the most out of people”said Leclerc, 25.
Binotto’s management of several bad team decisions, such as clumsy pit stops and disastrous strategy decisions that cost Leclerc victories. They caused conflict within the most iconic team in F1 and the eventual departure of Binotto.
Verstappen thinks the car is better this year; ‘Czech’ will not support it
Max Verstappen ensures that his RB19 could perform much better than the 2022. “In general terms, I think it is a step forward compared to last year”said the Dutchman during practice.
At just 25 years old, he set a record by winning 15 races last year, reaching 35 in his career. He is already sixth in the all-time win table.
Red Bull presented a lighter car and Verstappen is confident that they will have greater reliability. “The biggest problem last year was that our car was very heavy, and at first it was very lazy and unresponsive,” he said. “This year it remains in line, but it is a car with quite noticeable improvements”.
Last season was almost a walk for Verstappen, although he ran into an element of tension at the end. Sergio Pérez got angry with him because he did not allow him to overtake him in the Brazilian GP when he was fighting with Leclerc for second place in the championship. ‘Czech’ already warnedprior to the Bahrain GP that “If I don’t receive support, I won’t give it either”.
Where and when to watch the practices, qualifying and race of the Bahrain GP?
The 2023 Formula 1 season will begin with the Bahrain Grand Prix, to be held from March 3 to 5 at the Sakhir International Circuit. The schedules and transmissions below correspond to central Mexico:
Friday March 3
- Practice 1: 05:30 horas / Fox Sports, Fox Sports Premium y F1TV
- Practice 2: 09:00 horas / Fox Sports, Fox Sports Premium y F1TV
Saturday March 4
- Practice 3: 05:30 horas / Fox Sports, Fox Sports Premium y F1TV
- Classification: 09:00 horas / Fox Sports, Fox Sports Premium y F1TV
Sunday March 5
- Carrera: 09:00 horas / Fox Sports Premium y F1TV