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Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23
Autosport Plus
Opinion

How a confident Ferrari launch has changed the perception of its 2023 F1 chances

OPINION: Ferrari's Formula 1 title ambitions crumbled to nothing in 2022 as reliability issues, strategy mistakes and on-track errors derailed its campaign. Launching its 2023 car this week with a public debut run at Fiorano says a lot about its confidence, and has perhaps changed the perception of its chances this season

Ferrari threatened to almost come third in a two-horse race as the 2022 Formula 1 season drew to a close. Following the headline engine failures in Azerbaijan, Spain and Austria, the team wound down the turbos for the second half of the campaign to boost reliability.

They were even more asthmatic in Mexico. Carlos Sainz mustered only fifth ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc when they eventually reached the chequered flag a minute adrift of victor Max Verstappen. With Mercedes a genuine threat for the spoils before opting for a much too safe tyre strategy, just 40 points split the two squads scrapping in the wake of Red Bull ahead of the final two rounds.

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