“Special,” Charles Leclerc gives first impressions on driving 2023 Ferrari SF-23
Charles Leclerc drove the Ferrari SF-23 in Fiorano for the first time during the team's car launch event. His joy was there for all to see.
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari have unveiled their 2023 challenger, dubbed the SF-23, for the world to see. The livery, while similar to that of 2022, has been generally well-received. Like many of the others this season, it’s an ‘evolution’. But the real thing every fan will be looking forward to is seeing how it performs. But very surprisingly, unlike the very private shakedowns other teams performed, Ferrari showed the car on track in their launch event itself – and Charles Leclerc was the first man to drive it.
This was unique in terms of car launches for this year. On the broadcast, Leclerc drove 2 laps with the SF-23 on the Fiorano track. He and Carlos Sainz had earlier done a coin toss to find out who will get to drive the car first. Leclerc won that, but there is no reason to despair for Sainz. The ‘loser’ of the coin toss was set to drive a lap more than the one who went first. Sainz’s track time was not shown on the car launch broadcast.
It was definitely very exciting to see the car on track for the fans, and the chat went wild. One curious thing to note: The car still showed a bit of bouncing. But of course, it’s possible that this isn’t completely representative of the Ferrari car that will show up on pre-season testing (and in Bahrain). Nonetheless, along with the fans, it was exciting for Leclerc as well.
On being asked his thoughts on the car by Sainz over the radio, Leclerc said: “Hello babe. Can I do one more lap?” and laughing, the Spaniard told him to box. The Monegasque continued: “It feels good. I think we have started well cause I’m pretty sure we are the fastest on track. So that’s a good sign already, but everything feels good.”
Read More: Charles Leclerc gives important insight into Ferrari’s preparations for the 2023 F1 season
Everything went ‘smoothly for Charles Leclerc in the SF-23
The happiness definitely did not fade away for Charles Leclerc after exiting the car, and the joy was clearly visible on his face. Fans will hope that he is able to keep smiling throughout the season, unlike what happened last time around. His first reaction to driving the car was incredibly positive. When asked how it felt to drive the SF-23, the Monegasque said: “Ah, it feels good. I mean the first kilometers with this new project after doing so many kilometers with the simulator, it feels special.”
He added: “So everything went smoothly. Obviously, with two laps, it’s difficult to go into details. But I already gave my feedback once I was in the car there to the engineers to get the first feeling. The car was running well. Smooth. So yeah, everything went really well.” after lauding the Tifosi, who were present on track for the show, he said: “I really hope that this season will be an amazing one. But, yeah, it [the car] felt good.”
It’ll be interesting to see how the car stacks up in pre-season testing and Bahrain. That will really be the place where the first markers are set between the teams, as obviously, data from shakedowns is not available to the public, or especially to other teams. Will this finally be Ferrari’s year after all the previous years’ promises unraveled?
In case you missed it:
- “Lucky son of the b*stard,” Fans react as Charles Leclerc takes Michael Schumacher’s $9.5 million dollar Ferrari for a spin
- Here is why Charles Leclerc’s parking skills have broken the internet
Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)