Ferrari closed a positive Friday in Baku, with team principal Fred Vasseur sharing his view on the free practice sessions. The first day of track action in Azerbaijan confirmed that the Scuderia is competitive, even though McLaren is expected to return to the top positions on Saturday and Sunday. For now, Ferrari showed promising pace on Friday.
It was surprising to see Lewis Hamilton ahead of Charles Leclerc on a track where the Monegasque has always felt particularly comfortable. Already on Thursday, Leclerc had spoken about his good sensations coming into this circuit. At the end of FP2, Hamilton described the session as his best of the season so far.
Ferrari keeping its feet on the ground
Speaking to Sky Sport F1, Fred Vasseur analyzed Ferrari’s performance in Baku. “Dreaming is never a good thing,” the team principal explained, downplaying the early success. Despite Ferrari topping the timesheets, it is only Friday, and the rivals are expected to close the gap as the weekend progresses.
“The margins are tight. McLaren did not finish their laps, but they are fast. Mercedes probably did not run at full engine power. That means tomorrow the group will be very close. The race simulation is also important. We only managed four or five laps, but they were very good.”
Fred Vasseur made it clear he does not want to underestimate the challenge: “There is nothing worse for us than thinking it will be easy. Nothing ever is. Anyway, I am satisfied with today, we could not have done better.”
The qualifying strategy
On Friday Lewis Hamilton ran several flying laps on the yellow-marked C5 tire compound. This choice could reappear tomorrow. “In Monaco, Imola and Canada we had the C6 and C5 compounds, and the choice in qualifying was never straightforward,” Fred Vasseur explained.
In the past, for example, Mercedes achieved better qualifying results on the medium tire rather than the soft. Ferrari is considering the same possibility: “We carried out cross-tests here in Baku, and I think other teams did the same to get a clearer picture. It will be crucial for tomorrow. In both cases, we have a couple of sets of mediums available.”
The team also ran split programs on the rear wings, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton testing different configurations. On low-downforce tracks, comparative testing is essential to validate simulator data. “We carried out trials to check each option, and we will make a decision tonight,” Fred Vasseur concluded.
