Ferrari: a podium wouldn’t have changed anything in Bahrain, more performance is needed

Ferrari gave it everything at the 5.412-kilometre Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir. A Formula 1 race that still does not satisfy the Maranello team, because a fourth and a fifth place are not the goal for the Prancing Horse. Can this Bahrain weekend be seen as partially positive? What do you think? We believe no, despite the fact that the new floor worked and, generally speaking, aside from Lewis Hamilton’s performance in the qualifying session on Saturday, the historic Italian team optimized its performance. It seems like a reasonable argument.

However, there is still talk of backup positions because, essentially, the right pace still is not there. The key players have to look on the bright side. Optimism is useful for them. For us, a bit less, though, because the idea of yet another Formula 1 season spent explaining the whys, namely what works and what doesn’t, is not only a discouraging scenario, but one that has been repeating itself for 16 years now.

McLaren remains up front. The two papaya-colored cars have optimal pace and, once again, George Russell’s Mercedes shows great solidity. An anonymous race for Max Verstappen, who after the exploit in Japan has to settle for a meager sixth place. Could the Maranello team have reached the podium on track? Yes. Charles Leclerc could have held off Lando Norris and stepped onto the third step. It’s worth pointing out that this article is made before the stewards decision regarding the DRS incident on George Russell‘s car.

However, beyond the satisfaction that surely would have boosted morale, things would not have changed much even with a podium finish secured on track. The Maranello-based team still has a lot of work to do. The new floor is a positive upgrade and, as often happens in these cases, such an update can offer more performance after a couple of races, when the engineers figure out how to make it work best.

Sakhir once again highlighted Ferrari’s delay. We are talking about those 2 or 3 tenths that make all the difference in Formula 1. There are 20 races left, not a few, but in the meantime, the rivals are pulling away. At least we can say the Italian cars put up a fight, especially after the second stop with the Medium tyres. Once again, though, performance with the harder compounds was not exceptional.

Here arises a question: did Ferrari get the tyre strategy wrong? Was it right to start on the Mediums and lose an advantage in the first stint? More detailed analysis will come. In the meantime, we can say that even in this case, Ferrari’s problem wasn’t tyre choice. Could anything have changed with a different tyre tactic? Logically speaking, probably not.

The decisive factor remains the pace, which after 4 Grands Prix still does not allow the Reds to fight for victory. Four Formula 1 championship rounds without even a single podium was an unexpected scenario at the start. But mistakes come at a cost. More performance is needed, and fast. In the race, the SF-25 car’s handling was good. The understeer has not disappeared, but it didn’t poison the Italian cars’ lines.

Of course, over a 300-kilometre distance you push less and, for this reason, the various line corrections after corner entry through to the exit phase were not visible. A piece of data that Ferrari collects and sets aside, waiting to be able to do more. Next weekend there’s more Formula 1. The third round before a well-deserved break. Off to Jeddah, a track that could suit the SF-25.

Some further rear-end updates should arrive to maximize the aerodynamic efficiency of the car, which is an important factor in Saudi Arabia. Two words to Charles Leclerc: you believed, and for a moment, third place seemed possible. But, as previously said, it would not have changed anything. Yes, okay, on a personal level it would have been satisfying, but we know what you want from Ferrari: to win, not to come second, let alone third…