“The surprises? Aston Martin and Alfa Romeo. And among the drivers, watch out for Piastri”
“Red Bull is always the favourite, as reigning world champion they are the car to beat, but let’s hope Ferrari is there, battling with them.” This is the opinion given to Adnkronos by Marc Gené, Brand Ambassador of Scuderia Ferrari and technical commentator for Sky Sport F1, in view of the start of the 2023 F1 World Championship (broadcast entirely on Sky) this weekend with the Bahrain Grand Prix.
“Will Leclerc and Sainz be able to fight for victory right away? It’s our goal but we don’t know until we see the others too. On Friday we’ll have a clearer idea, we’ll reveal the cards. The ‘red’ was born well, the tests are went well, the car is reliable, responds well to changes, it is an improvement on last year’s car, in the areas we wanted to improve, so we are happy with the work done. We are now analyzing all the data. We are happy with how they are The tests have gone and we will soon have the first answers. However, the one in Bahrain is almost the only track, but if you don’t win there, it shouldn’t be a problem. The world championship is long,” added Genè. On what the new team principal Vasseur brought differently to Maranello, Genè then added: “he has a lot of experience, he was team principal of various teams and has a very rich background. Few have his experience in all categories and he has immediately created an excellent feeling with the whole team”.
The Spanish racing driver also indicates what could be the surprises of the F1 season. “What can be the surprises? Aston Martin for sure. They did very well in the tests, but Alfa Romeo also did quite well. Alonso? I don’t know how much he can fight for the top, but the tests were very positive “. There were a few more difficulties for Mercedes. “They’ve improved a lot over the course of the tests though. Perhaps McLaren, on the other hand, is the one that appeared to be in the most difficulty. McLaren was also in difficulty in Bahrain last year and also in the first GPs but then they went on to improve Mercedes’ times with Hamilton in the flying lap, on the other hand, weren’t bad,” underlined Genè.
The Brand Ambassador of the Scuderia Ferrari and technical commentator of the Formula 1 races for Sky Sport F1, is also betting on a young driver. “The emerging young man? Point to Oscar Piastri for his background and he will have a good reference with Lando Norris”. As for when an Italian driver will be able to return to the Genè circus, it is clear: “I’d like Antonio Giovinazzi to return, that in any case what he will do at Le Mans is a good program. Other youngsters? I’m following Antonelli but there’s still a little to go before entering F1. but you will see that Italian drivers will return to F1, hopefully soon with Antonio who is also test and reserve driver for Ferrari”, added Genè who played in Formula 1 from 1999 to 2004, while in 2009 he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans .
Source-www.adnkronos.com