Ferrari extremely cautious: 'Drivers asked to pass on every signal'

The reliability of Ferrari's SF23 is already a concern for the team. Race director Laurent Mekies has indicated that Ferrari is extremely alert to the slightest deviations of the car. Reliability leaves a lot to be desired.

Reliability still a concern at Ferrari

Over the winter, the team was confident about the work that had been done to increase the reliability of the engine. The engine for 2023 would be so strong that it could be opened up further and get much more power out of it. Things went wrong in Bahrain already. Without an error message, Charles Leclerc stalled during the race.

Meanwhile, for the Saudi Arabia GP, Leclerc received his third Control Eletrics and both drivers received a new ICE and MGU-H. For Leclerc, it means a grid penalty of 10 spots for the CU, Carlos Sainz still gets away without penalties. However, the team is in a state of high alert. So says Mekies to the Italian Corriere dello Sport that any deviation must be reported by the drivers.

Customer teams Ferrari need not worry

Mekies: "It is important to be 100 per cent careful. Indeed, we have asked the drivers to report the slightest signal that may seem anomalous or suspicious." The striking thing is that the problems do not seem to be directly related to the engine after all. For example, the team boss of customer team Haas F1, Guenther Steiner, says he is aware of Ferrari's problems but has been assured that there is nothing wrong with the engines they take from the team.

Steiner: "I don't know exactly what it is then. We are not being told that. I didn't ask them either. They just said we don't have to worry."