The narrowly missed pole in Sakhir doesn’t dampen Ferrari’s spirits. The Maranello team concluded the qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix with Charles Leclerc on the front row and Carlos Sainz in the second, confirming the promising signs seen in the winter tests and yesterday’s practice.
After the official sessions, Ferrari’s team principal, Frédéric Vasseur, spoke to Sky Sport F1 to comment on the just-obtained result. Ferrari has pleased, especially because it has shown positive signs right from the beginning of the season. Now, it needs to replicate that performance in the race, where it seems to have already shown better signs than in 2023 regarding tire degradation, as well as in the developments that will enable it to consistently compete with Red Bull.
Fred Vasseur, are you satisfied with the Qualifying result in Sakhir, or were you expecting more?
“We were first in Q1 and first in Q2. You always expect to be first in Q3, but I think we didn’t manage to put everything together. However, what we’ve seen is encouraging. We managed to stay competitive until the end of the session. Now we will see how things go over the long distance.”
You’re smiling… This Ferrari seems to be to your liking.
“I’m smiling because I’m happy. We said from the beginning that it was very difficult to comment on the results of the winter tests because you never know how much fuel the opponents have, the engine mappings used, and so on. We were in the dark. But it was a matter of tenths. One or two tenths can change the result and thus the perception of a result. Now we know that we were all at the limit of the engine and fuel. This is a good scenario and quite faithful to the scenario we had at the end of the tests. But now what matters is the race.”
You are all very close in terms of lap times. How important could it be to be close in the race as well, including Red Bull?
“For us, the most important thing would be to manage to put pressure on Red Bull. Last year they had such an advantage that they had no problem in that regard. But if we are closer this year, we can do it. If they are under pressure, they are forced to make choices and have a less easy life.”
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What are the expectations for tomorrow’s race?
“Tomorrow? I don’t have a crystal ball. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. Last year, we managed to improve well throughout the season. We started on the right foot this year. It will be important to have a good race this year. We will have to maintain the same level of concentration even in the race, and then in the end, we will see what our result will be.”
What does Ferrari need to do differently from the past season?
“We have taken a good step forward in pure performance, and we have made progress in terms of tire degradation during the race. Now it will be important to be opportunistic and not leave points on the table. We will have to be much more concrete this year and try to capitalize on opportunities starting from tomorrow. We will have to try to bring home a good haul of points.”
Have you already figured out why Carlos Sainz was so far from Charles Leclerc‘s performance in Q3?
“I don’t know why Carlos was so far in Q3 compared to Leclerc. Today the track was colder than in the previous days, and when there’s traffic and you have to let cars pass, you lose some temperature in the tires. So, it becomes difficult to recover the situation. In the race, the situation will be different because lap after lap, the tires gain temperature. So, the situation will be different also from the degradation perspective.”
Can Ferrari aim to win tomorrow?
“It’s difficult to have a clear picture for tomorrow’s race. According to yesterday’s simulations, Max has an advantage for tomorrow. Behind him, all the others are quite close, with very similar values. Almost with the same pace and the same degradation for everyone. The start will be important, but we have good feelings.”
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