The Bahrain Grand Prix was supposed to be the start of something special for Ferrari, who had taken a huge leap forward last season under the new regulations.
The Scuderia went from midfield challengers to true title contenders last year, boasting one of the fastest cars on the grid for the majority of the season.
Unfortunately for the team they were unable to win either championship despite building up healthy leads in both, with strategic blunders and reliability issues being the downfall of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz at a number of races.
Ferrari’s capitulation saw team principal Mattia Binotto replaces with Alfa Romeo’s Fred Vasseur, who was confident of overcoming the reliability issues over the winter break.
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The 2023 season has however started in disaster for the team, with Leclerc forced to retire from the season opener with a power unit issue, despite some components being changed before the race in parc ferme.
This nightmare for Leclerc has led to the Monegasque driver requesting a meeting with Ferrari president John Elkann, with Leclerc reportedly very unhappy with the current situation.
Multiple members of staff are also looking to depart the team, with the regime of Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna reportedly frustrating a number of employees.
Head of concept David Sanchez has already left the team and it is rumoured that he will be swiftly followed by assistant team principal and race director Laurent Mekies.
The Frenchman is attracting interest from Alpine, F1 and the FIA, making his departure extremely likely.
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The Ferrari hierarchy are also unhappy with their new team principal after Vasseur was revealed to have flown to the Bahrain Grand Prix with the Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, Ferrari’s rival.
All this chaos has come about following the first race of the 2023 season and with 22 races left to go, Vasseur will be hoping to quickly get his team back on track.
The Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia is set to suit the SF-23 much better than the Bahrain International Circuit, giving Ferrari a real chance to bounce back from their disappointing round one.