The Bahrain Grand Prix felt somewhat like a missed opportunity for Ferrari, especially given how the race unfolded, even though there will be time and ways, with more in-depth analysis, to understand what the outcome might have been without the Safety Car.
After choosing to start on the medium compound — the only team to opt for that tyre at the start of the race — Charles Leclerc was able to extend his first stint by a few laps compared to his direct rivals, fitting another set of the same compound. As expected, the medium proved to be the most effective choice, especially considering it was made softer this year, thus representing an excellent alternative to the hard, which is certainly more durable but also slower.
If the gap to George Russell was only four laps, compared to Lando Norris it extended to seven, considering that McLaren had decided to call the Brit in early to get him out of the Mercedes driver’s traffic and allow him to serve the penalty received at the start for lining up outside his grid slot.
This difference in tyre life allowed the Monegasque to quickly close the gap to Norris, pulling off an overtake on lap 25 with a nice move under braking at Turn 4, on the outside, after closing back in using DRS. From there, Leclerc also set his sights on Russell, slowly starting to close the gap — at least until it stabilized at around one and a half seconds.
The Monegasque’s hope was to push Mercedes into an early stop, something that probably wouldn’t have worked, because — lacking a second set of mediums — the only alternative would have been to fit either softs or hards, with the latter not showing promising performance, as expected. Moreover, as soon as Leclerc got behind Russell, he started to suffer from dirty air, resulting in tyre overheating.
“I was starting to struggle a bit behind George, my tyres were overheating, so I think we could have pushed him to pit, which would have been great, but we didn’t manage to,” the Ferrari driver explained after the race.
With the Safety Car coming out due to debris on track shortly after halfway through the race, Mercedes decided to take a risk by fitting the softest compound, while Ferrari played it safe by choosing a compound that — without a doubt — would take both SF-25s to the end.
The hard compound definitely allowed Leclerc to reach the chequered flag, but given the pace difference compared to the other two compounds, the options were limited — unless rivals made mistakes or their tyres dropped off suddenly. The Ferrari driver held off Norris’s attacks as long as he could, despite the McLaren man having better-performing tyres, with the overtake only coming about seven laps from the end.
Still, for Leclerc the hard was the right choice, because according to him, it wouldn’t have been possible for Ferrari to take the soft to the end. “I think it was the right choice, given what we had. Clearly George Russell managed to make the soft last until the end. I don’t think that was an option for us, but we’ll analyze it. I don’t think it would have changed much though,” he added.
Looking ahead, Charles Leclerc emphasized that strategy is only a temporary patch for Ferrari’s issues, a way to try to cover up certain weaknesses. However, the fundamental problem remains the same one mentioned a week ago after the race in Suzuka: in his view, the SF-25 simply isn’t fast enough.
“Obviously it’s disappointing when you give it your all and finish fourth, it doesn’t make me smile. But, for now, this is the situation we’re in. We gave everything this weekend, but our best isn’t enough,” said Leclerc, adding another layer of analysis to his race.
“It feels like right now we’re not fast enough. You can phrase it in different ways. We pushed a bit in the first stint and were quicker in the second, but only because of degradation. Then, when we were on the same tyres as the others at the end, we struggled to keep the pace, just like at the start. So I think overall we lacked pace,” the Monegasque added.
“Then obviously, when you’re lacking pace, whatever strategy you choose, you’re always on the back foot. So yes, [the bottom line is that] we’re not fast enough,” added the Ferrari driver, who also highlighted how the car currently lacks downforce, despite the updates brought to the floor this weekend — which no doubt helped, though their effect will be seen more clearly in Jeddah than in Sakhir. The gap to the top, however, is still not fully closed.
“I think we need more: more aerodynamic load, more grip. I think right now, in terms of balance, we’re extracting the maximum from the car, but there’s nothing else. I just need more grip to be faster through the corners. In qualifying, I still feel I can mask it a bit, but then in the race, if there’s no grip, you get more degradation and that’s it.”
Charles Leclerc, however, also left a glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel, which he described as “longer than he would have liked”: “I don’t know, I think this tunnel is a bit longer than I would have wanted, but yes, in the end I’m sure we’ll find our way. How long it’ll take, though, I don’t know.”
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