Leo Turini: SF25 does not meet expectations yet

      Leo Turini, a veteran Italian racing journalist, summarizing the results of the pre-season tests, began his short comment by mentioning an event that also took place in the Middle East, but not in Bahrain, but in Qatar.…

      In all honesty, we can say that Ferraris flew in the desert, just like on wings. However, this applies to the 499P hypercars that compete in the WEC: yesterday in Qatar they were the main characters of the first stage of the World Endurance Racing Championship.

      You can't say the same about what happened to Ferrari in the sands of Bahrain.

      I'll put it this way: analyzing the results of pre-season tests in Formula 1, you should always make allowances for the fact that no one ever reveals all the cards in them.

      Moreover, this time there were completely abnormal weather conditions in Sakhir. And Frederic Wasser, the head of the Scuderia, is right when he emphasizes that in Melbourne, in the context of the Australian climate, the picture will be completely different.

      But we have to add to this that the SF25, the new Ferrari car, has not yet lived up to expectations. Charles Leclair talked about it quite openly. Lewis Hamilton spoke more cautiously, but if you don't pay attention to the emotional component of his communication with the press, then there wasn't much enthusiasm in his moods either.

      "There is still a lot of work ahead" – there is such a familiar cliche in the professional jargon of Formula 1 drivers.

      It is worth adding that during the 24 hours of work on the track preceding the 24-Grand Prix season, you can only get a very rough idea of the balance of power. In the meantime, we have to admit that McLaren is ahead of everyone, although the Red Bull car, when driven by Max Verstappen, is quite likely at almost the same level.

      There's nothing more to say yet.