Charles Leclerc Shown the Writing on the Wall as Bruised Ferrari Punched Badly With Hard Facts

Last season, Charles Leclerc and company put up a fight against Red Bull although the Austrian team outperformed the Scuderia, it appears that neither team’s fortunes have changed for season 2023. As Ferrari continues to struggle with pace and reliability while Red Bull still remains the dominant side. And according to recent news, an ex-F1 driver gave his assessment of the battered Ferrari and pointed out to Charles Leclerc the impending doom.

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez’s P1 and P2 finishes at the Bahrain Grand Prix made it abundantly evident that Milton Keynes will be the squad to beat. Even after changing the organisational structure and putting in a lot of work over the winter, Ferrari is still behind Red Bull. Where on one hand Carlos Sainz was found 48 seconds Behind Red Bull’s top driver Max Verstappen, on the other hand, Charles Leclerc was unable to complete even his race due to engine failures.

It was sufficient proof for ex-f1 driver Ralf Schumacher to conclude that Ferrari cannot close the performance gap quickly enough. The former F1 driver responded when Formel1 asked him for his opinion on whether the Maranello squad would challenge Red Bull in the future. He said, “ I don’t think so. I think it will take too long [to close the gap] and that Red Bull will time is already out of the picture unless, of course, there is technical bad luck. I would like it, but I fear that this will be a relatively boring season. It will revolve around two fighting team-mates.”

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Although Carlos Sainz missed the podium at the Bahrain GPs and Charles Leclerc experienced a DNF due to an engine issue, the new team boss Frederic Vasseur is optimistic that the Scuderi will be able to compete with the mighty Red bull.

Frederic Vasseur offers his opinion in response to the Bahrain GP upsets involving Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz

Many problems for Ferrari were made clear at the Sakhir track. Despite the Maranello team’s outstanding performance in qualifying, Red Bull was the only one to win the race. Sainz’s problems with tyres held him out of the race for the podium, and the team once again noticed a reliability issue when Leclerc was forced to retire due to the engine issue.

Nonetheless, the highly anticipated squad that was expected to threaten the top three won the podium. Fernando Alonso quickly passed Carlos Sainz and won his 99th podium. Aston Martin quickly established itself as a new podium contender by demonstrating their actual speed.

Yet, despite their excellent start, Ferrari’s team principal Fred Vasseur believes that his team is closer to Red Bull. As per the formula1news.co.uk, He said,” If you only look at the first part of the race, I think we are closer to Red Bull than to Aston Martin. [But] this is race one and we don’t have to draw any conclusions.”

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Since 2020, the Scuderia has made some big improvements. Yet, the team is still having problems with reliability. Now looking at the points table do you think Ferrari will be able to overtake the ferocious Red Bull considering the margin between the two powerhouses is already 31 points?