Carlos Sainz was happy with Ferrari’s first day of pre-season testing in Bahrain

Carlos Sainz was happy with Ferrari SF-23's performance during the first day of pre-season testing in Bahrain as he felt many elements of the car, such as the reliability, felt good after eight long hours of running.

The first day of pre-season testing came to an end in Bahrain after all the teams officially tested out their 2023 challengers for the first time.

Carlos Sainz, who had the second-fastest lap on the first day of testing, revealed how the Ferrari felt on the track, something that has been of quite some interest to the fans. The Spaniard revealed that the entire session has provided the team with enough data and that the car has promising reliability. Sainz said (via PlanetF1):

"Overall a positive first day. Reliability was good and we could run smoothly, covering the whole run plan and gathering valuable data, which is encouraging. We progressed well with the setup during the day."

Max Verstappen had the fastest lap of the session, while Carlos Sainz was only a little behind him, with Alonso finding his place between both the drivers. Though the laptimes do not really matter during pre-season testing, it certainly brings hope for the team for the upcoming season. Adding that to Sainz's feedback on the car, it sounds like a positive season for the team in red up ahead.

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Why is Carlos Sainz's 'reliability' comment important for Ferrari in 2023?

Carlos Sainz's comment about the SF-23 mentioned that the reliability of the car feels good. This must have been extracted by the team from all the runs they did throughout the session, reflecting the possibility of such runs being taken in the reference for the upcoming season. This is extremely important for the team for the upcoming season, owing to what happened in 2022.

Though Ferrari had a comfortable lead in the championship at the start of the season, a lot of issues emerged which pulled them down and Verstappen took the lead from them. One of the major reasons for this was the reliability of the car. Races like the Spanish Grand Prix and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix saw retirements due to engine failure, owing to huge points loss.

However, as Carlos Sainz revealed about the durability of the car, it could turn out to be promising throughout the year. Frederic Vasseur, the team's new principal, too, earlier revealed that the team had been working on the reliability of the car.