Leclerc knew immediately: 'SF-23 felt strange in first few laps'

Ferrari's results this season are not yet anything to write home about. The Italian team is struggling to finish in the top three. Although the 2022 car still showed some speed and took victory that year, Ferrari seems to have gone in the wrong direction in terms of development for the SF-23. Charles Leclerc immediately realised that the 2023 car would not be a high-flyer, he leaves a note in Italy's Il Corriere della Sera.

Disappointing season for Ferrari

With fifth and seventh in the championship, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are not competing for prizes. The Ferrari cannot connect with Red Bull Racing and is in contention with Mercedes, Aston Martin and McLaren. Despite Leclerc grabbing a podium finish in the Belgian Grand Prix and indicating earlier that there is still potential in the car, the Monegasque immediately felt at the first tests that this season's car was not as strong as in 2022.

Former Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto indicated only last year that Ferrari had well identified the performance and reliability issues that needed to be addressed for this season. However, during the shakedown of the SF-23 and during the first tests in Bahrain, Leclerc immediately noticed something curious:"During the first test laps, there was a strange feeling. Something didn't feel right at all in the balance of the car. Only later did I discover that the performance also left something to be desired".

Leclerc: 'Ferrari deserves to win'

Leclerc grabbed three podium finishes in 2023 until the summer break. Speaking to the Italian newspaper, he said the following about that: "That's nice yes, but I didn't really enjoy it. The memory of 2022 is too fresh. We should not settle for second or third place, but Ferrari deserves to win."