Ferrari and Charles Leclerc encounter early setback before 2023 F1 Bahrain GP

Ferrari F1 driver Charles Leclerc has opted to replace his current energy store in his power unit with a new one for the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP. With this change, the Ferrari driver has used up half of his allocation of energy stores for the year. Leclerc will not be incurring a penalty for the change.

The power unit is made up of six components: Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), Turbo, MGU-K, MGU-H, Control Electronics, and Energy Store. Each driver is allowed to take two new energy store components throughout the season.

With the change coming before the first race of the season, Ferrari has clearly suffered a major setback. If the car suffers an issue in the following races, the team won't have enough replacements without incurring penalties.

Charles Leclerc starts the Bahrain GP in the second row, qualifying behind the Red Bull pair of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. The Monagasque did not expect to be in the fight for the pole and a strategic decision put his Ferrari out of Q3 early. The lap time he had set earlier was enough to take third in the session.

The Monagasque confirmed post-qualifying that he gave up on claiming pole position during the session to save a set of new tires for the race. All eyes will be on the young driver this season to see if he can take Ferrari back to their glory.

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Charles Leclerc impressed by Fred Vasseur and his understanding of Ferrari

Frederic Vasseur, the new team principal of the Ferrari F1 team, has made an impressive start, according to driver Charles Leclerc. Vasseur joined the team in early January after the departure of former boss Mattia Binotto.

Leclerc said he was "very impressed" with how well Vasseur had introduced himself to the team and how quickly he had adapted to the way Ferrari works. The Monagasque driver said:

"Ferrari is very different to whatever we are used to before. Ferrari is huge. And once he got here, he understood extremely well the way Ferrari works from the first few days."

Charles Leclerc went on to elaborate on how clear Vasseur was with his vision for the team, saying:

"He's very clear in what he wants and he's extremely good at putting the people in the right mindset and in the right ambiance to give their best. And this is very important. So, that's what he brings to Ferrari and I'm sure it will be a good thing."

Meanwhile, Tifosi around the world are waiting to see if and how Vasseur's entry brings about a change in the Scuderia.