Red Bull 'is on another planet right now', claims Charles Leclerc after 2023 F1 Bahrain GP

After a tough 2023 F1 Bahrain GP, Charles Leclerc admitted that Red Bull are too strong and Ferrari need a more reliable car to compete with them consistently throughout the season. The Monagasque suffered a power failure on lap 41 of the race, forcing him to retire the car. Since he was running in third position, he lost the opportunity to grab an easy podium finish.

After his retirement from the race, Charles Leclerc spoke to Sky Sports regarding what happened and how Red Bull looked miles ahead of Ferrari even when he was racing. Though he and his team were expecting to be on the back foot in Bahrain, the sudden engine failure entails that the Italian team needs to be more reliable to consistently finish races and bag as many points as possible. Leclerc said:

"We expected to be on the back foot this weekend, especially in the race to Red Bull – that team is on another planet right now. But that’s exactly why most weekends we need to bring maximum points possible home, and we didn’t manage to do so."

Charles Leclerc had a brilliant start in the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP. He was able to overtake Sergio Perez on the first lap of the race and kept the position for quite some time.

Even though both Red Bull cars created a massive gap after all the pit stops, Leclerc was comfortably running in third position before his car simply lost power and stopped. The Monagasque himself does not have a concrete answer as to how and why SF-23 lost power.

The 2023 F1 Bahrain GP ended with Max Verstappen winning and Sergio Perez securing the second position.

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Red Bull driver Max Verstappen is wary of Aston Martin's pace

Max Verstappen recently acknowledged Aston Martin and how they will be competitive in the 2023 F1 season. The British team has made some drastic improvements to essentially become a top team. Although Verstappen and Red Bull are miles ahead of anyone on the grid, the two-time world champion is still cautious of Aston Martin. When Sportskeeda asked him about the team, he said:

"Yeah, for sure, they look very competitive. And I think already not only this year but last year. Their car was maybe not that amazing but I think in race pace, they were always quite strong compared to their competitors. So they probably took that also into this year."

Ever since pre-season testing, Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso have looked extremely strong. They were easily able to produce lap times that were close to Ferrari's and Mercedes'. The same went for the practice sessions, qualifying sessions, and the race in Bahrain, where Fernando Alonso managed to get his first podium with his new team after finishing in P3.