The Results Of The Bahrain GP F1 Are Not Enough To Break The Spirit Of Ferrari To Stop The Domination Of Red Bull Racing

JAKARTA - Ferrari has not been able to break the dominance of Red Bull Racing. This was clearly seen in the inaugural Formula 1 (F1) 2023 race.

During the race at the Sakhir Circuit, Bahrain, Ferrari even lost quickly to Aston Martin who placed Fernando Alonso on the third podium. While the podiums are one and two are controlled by Red Bull Racing.

The result was clearly a crushing blow to Ferrari. However, Ferrari's Team Principal, Frederic Vasseur admitted, still has full confidence in his squad's ability to challenge and conquer Red Bull's dominance in F1 2023.

"I'm sure, very sure about this. I've never seen a car that can match the speed of another car in qualifying. It's a set-up problem and some choices (stemmed) on the car, not a concept problem," Vasseur said.

In the opening race in Bahrain, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz is in fourth place with a difference of 48.052 seconds behind Max Verstappen who won. Meanwhile, another Ferrari racer, Charles Leclerc, was forced out of the race due to problems in the SF-23 that he was driving.

But Vasseur highlighted Ferrari's speed on qualification as an excuse to continue to be optimistic about moving forward, given that Leclerc only recorded a tenth of a second later than Verstappen in qualifying.

"The most important thing now is how we can have a clear picture of the situation. Which point is less successful for us, then do the right analysis of this, and come back stronger as soon as possible," Vasseur said, as quoted by Antara.

Ferrari's achievement in Bahrain puts the Italian factory team in fourth place in the constructors' standings this season. Ferrari is 31 points behind Red Bull who is at the top.

Second and third place were occupied by Aston Martin and Mercedes, respectively.

Furthermore, the F1 race will be held at the Jeddah International Circuit, Saudi Arabia, from March 17 to 19.