Ex-Formula 1 driver Timo Glock has labelled Ferrari as the biggest disappointment of the 2023 season so far.
Ferrari was hoping to enter the current campaign on a stronger note compared to last year, when its strong early-season form filtered out as the season went on.
After winning two of the opening three rounds, it took just two more wins across the entire year that was marred by strategy blunders, driver errors and reliability concerns.
However, it took pride in returning to the top step of the podium after difficult seasons in 2020 and 2021.
But Glock, who entered almost 100 races during his F1 career, has criticised the team following a point-less event in Melbourne.
“For me, Ferrari is the absolute disappointment of the season,” he wrote in his column for Sky Sports Deutschland. “In terms of pace, the red team are not getting anything together.
“Charles Leclerc shows that after a bad qualifying, the risk of being involved in an accident in the turmoil is high,” he added, referring to Leclerc’s opening lap retirement following contact with Lance Stroll.
Leclerc’s team-mate Carlos Sainz dropped out of the top 10 when he was issued a time penalty following contact with Fernando Alonso.
“Carlos Sainz had good pace in the meantime and showed strong overtaking manoeuvres,” Glock added.
“The penalty at the end was unfortunate, but justified. It was certainly not the start to the season that Ferrari had hoped for, that we had hoped for.
“Now it’s up to Frederic Vasseur [Ferrari Team Principal] to quickly set a new direction and get the team back on track.”
Glock backs Red Bull to be even further ahead in Baku
Red Bull has dominated the start of the 2023 season, continuing its strong form from last year.
It has taken three wins from three so far and has showcased a notable advantage over its rivals in race trim.
With Baku up next on the schedule, Glock believes the track layout will suit the RB19 package and take Red Bull to an even further height over the rest of the competition.
“Is there any hope that the next races will be more exciting? I think the fact that the field was closer together in Melbourne was due to the characteristics of the track,” Glock said.
“I had hoped that Mercedes in particular would have come closer. You have to see if they can keep up the pace.
“In Baku there are more corners, long straights, where the DRS effect of Red Bull comes into play.
“That’s why I think Red Bull will again put a bigger gap between themselves and the competition in Baku.”
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