McLaren boss reveals 2023 Ferrari rumour

Ferrari started 2022 as the team to beat, after Charles Leclerc claimed two victories from the opening three races of the season.

New McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has tipped Ferrari to have a “competitive start” to 2023, with the Italian having heard that the Maranello-based team are “very happy” with their new challenger.

2022 was a mixed season for Ferrari, with the side having been hailed as the early title favourites, after Charles Leclerc won two of the opening three rounds of the season.

The Scuderia then let themselves down with a plethora of errors, something new boss Frederic Vasseur will be hoping to eradicate.

Should Ferrari solve their 2022 misdemeanours, then 2023 could be their year.

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Whether it is the Italians year or not, Stella is expecting big things from Ferrari and also Mercedes.

“I expect a big reaction from Mercedes, even though I know that at Ferrari they are very happy with the new car and so they will definitely have a competitive start,” Stella told Gazzetta dello Sport.

It’s not just Stella who is expecting Ferrari to be strong, with Leclerc also feeling very “confident” that the team are in a very good place going into the new season.

Leclerc revealed that the Italian outfit have been “working extremely hard” to figure out what went wrong this year, in order for their “weaknesses” to not be repeated in 2023.

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Interestingly, departing boss Mattia Binotto is continuing to help the side prepare for the new season, with his final day as the Italians team principal being 31 December.

The New Year will, of course, see a leadership change; however, given how well the team are currently working, Leclerc isn’t expecting the side to “suffer too much” during the switch.

“I am confident because we are doing quite a lot of work at the simulator,” Leclerc said earlier in December.

READ: Lewis Hamilton makes surprising comment about 2022 season

“We’ve been working extremely hard in the past year to try and understand what were the weaknesses of this car in order to get better for next year’s car.

“Obviously, there’s also Mattia still at the factory at the moment, working and trying to help the team to get ready for 2023. I believe that if the transition is done in the right way, we shouldn’t suffer too much.

“I also think that after the 2021 season where we’ve been working very well and reset it a little bit from 2020, that was a difficult season, we have been working in the right direction and in the right way. And this gives me the confidence that we’ll have a competitive car for 2023.”