Championship Hopeful Charles Leclerc Keeps Fingers Crossed on Red Bull & Aston Martin F1 Threat: “It’s Still Early Days”

In Friday’s practice, Ferrari was observed to be having issues. At first, Carlos Sainz spun in FP1, and later Charles Leclerc had some clutch problems. Following FP1 later in FP2, we discovered the pair to be having trouble keeping up with the speed. In contrast, the team to beat during the practice session was still the 2022 champions Red Bull. Nonetheless, what came as a surprise was Fernando Alonso‘s lightning-quick Aston Martin. Where earlier the 25-year-old had to battle with two other teams for his championship, it now appears that Aston Martin’s brilliance had caused the young man to cross his fingers.

Looking at the results from Friday’s practice, the Monegasque driver came in fifth and fourth in the FP1 and F2, respectively. The results could be a little troubling for the entire team that will contend for the championship in the following season, and now that Fernando Alonso has entered the top three, things could go south for the 25-year-old. Nonetheless, the Monegasque is hopeful that the course’s design may have contributed to the pace that Red Bull and Aston Martin displayed, and he believes that the Silverstone-based team won’t be as quick as in qualifying.

As per formal 1.com Leclerc said, “I hope so! I don’t know. It’s still early days. I maybe think that Aston is a bit quicker [today] than what they will be tomorrow, but again, let’s wait and see.” The Monegasque was in first place for Ferrari at the end of FP2, however, Fernando Alonso took the top spot in the Aston Martin and had a lead of 0.46 seconds under the lights. Besides concerning Aston Martin’s pace, Leclerc also believes the pole is beyond Ferrari’s reach. He added, “I don’t think we have the performance maybe for pole, but we can be in the mix.”

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Aston Martin worked diligently throughout the winter months to perfect their car, and now that Alonso has joined the team, the squad appears to be stocked to the brim with armaments. There has been talking about Aston Martin’s potential since the preseason testing and practice sessions, which also impressed Red Bull Boss Christian Horner.

Christian Horner adds fuel to Charles Leclerc’s concern about Aston Martin’s threat

Many of us might have thought that Toto Wolff was playing a trick when he acknowledged Aston Martin’s true pace during the preseason testing in Bahrain, however, when the Silverstone-based team showed up on the Sakhir circuit, it was crystal clear, that the team has something to show up. And now that Fernando Alonso has demonstrated the actual Aston Martin pace on the Bahrain track, Christian Horner is finally able to recognize the threat. Horner praised Nando for his attitude and claimed that the Silverstone team might be a surprise this year.

As per Formula1.com Horner said, ” Their car looks great. They had some really impressive race runs last week. Fernando looks… I don’t know what he’s taking, but he’s looking great on it, he looks on fire. I think they could be a real surprise this year. They’re really a bit of a dark horse. It just shows that it is possible to take a jump from the midfield to potentially further up.”

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Scuderia earned many hearts of the people by demonstrating their true ability in the title fight last year. Unfortunately, the team was heartbroken after encountering numerous problems. And given the bad start to the year, the supporters might be disappointed. With that, do you think Charles Leclerc will put an end to Ferrari’s championship drought or will this year turn out to be yet another nightmare for the Tifosi supporters?