Frederic Vasseur commented on Ferrari’s performance at the end of qualifying in Bahrain, with Charles Leclerc starting in the front row tomorrow, and Carlos Sainz in fourth position.
Despite Charles Leclerc’s regret for narrowly missing pole position, Frederic Vasseur can smile at the end of qualifying in Bahrain, with Ferrari still making its presence felt by achieving the day’s goal of securing the front row. The Monegasque driver was unable to put together the perfect lap in his last attempt in Q3, just like Carlos Sainz, who will instead start alongside a surprising George Russell in the second row.
Ferrari on the front row in Bahrain
“In general, it’s a strange feeling because we set the fastest lap of the session and we’re not on pole,” began the manager from France at the end of qualifying in Sakhir. “It means we didn’t put everything together, and we’ll have to work on that. But I’d say it’s a step forward even on a single lap.”
“The most important thing is tomorrow. I hope we will be able to manage the degradation much better than last year and that it will be a good race. The fastest lap of the session was Charles’s in Q2. It’s very encouraging to know that the pace is there.”
The Frenchman, like Charles Leclerc, showed some regret for not fully exploiting the potential of the car in Q3: “It’s clear we had the potential, but the most important thing in our job is not having the potential, but showing it on the timesheet.”
All things considered, however, Fred Vasseur sees the glass as half full: “I think it went quite well. We know why we lost in the last stint, and we’ll have time to correct it. Last year we saw a good improvement throughout the season, and we are starting off in a much better shape compared to a year ago.”
Speaking of the strength values looking ahead to the race, the Ferrari Team Principal prefers not to say too much: “You can’t draw a conclusion after just one session. Also, the fact that the circuit in Bahrain is a bit different, it was very cold. I’m not sure we’ll have a track temperature like this during the season. We have to take things one at a time and see what the result will be.”
Finally, seeing also the good pace shown in the simulations, Vasseur believes that Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have the potential to do well in the race: “We did a lot of long runs. I believe we have made a significant step forward compared to last year.” – he pointed out.
“I don’t know if it will be enough or not. We’ll have a clear answer tomorrow and not before, but at least we’re starting off in better shape. We’re much more confident with the balance of the car and the degradation, and it’s encouraging for the rest of the season.” – the French manager concluded.
Leave a Reply