Ferrari ready for Sprint race. Fred Vasseur: “True, we start weekends well, but we remain humble”. In China, the Sprint format will debut in the 2024 Formula 1 season.

China on the horizon
With the Japanese Grand Prix behind them, it’s time for Scuderia Ferrari to focus on the Chinese Grand Prix, which returns to the calendar five years after the last race held in 2019. The Shanghai circuit has been resurfaced, so it will be like racing on a new track in terms of asphalt roughness and potential bumps to ‘map out’.

In China, the Sprint format will debut in the 2024 Formula 1 season, making it a real challenge for teams and drivers to face a weekend that, compared to the 2023 regulations, will allow them to make setup changes until before Qualifying, a session moved to Saturday afternoon with the Sprint Shootout advanced to Friday afternoon and the Sprint race scheduled for Saturday morning.

In 2023, Scuderia Ferrari often performed well on Sprint weekends, starting right away with the correct setup, prepared at the simulator in Maranello. Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur introduced the upcoming weekend by emphasizing that nothing should be taken for ‘granted’: “It will be difficult, but it will be difficult for everyone – his words in a press conference – the big question mark will be the track surface, because we know the circuit layout, but not the bumps. Moreover, the temperatures will likely be cooler, and we don’t know the roughness of the track surface. These will be the keys to the weekend.” – the French manager pointed out.

“We will have to choose which compounds to try on Friday. Preparation for the weekend will be crucial. It’s true that last year we generally did well on Sprint weekends, but we don’t know how much was due to the format and how much to the track design. However, we have shown that we start weekends well, which means we have the ability to be ready from the first session. In this world, humility is crucial. Excluding Red Bull, here in qualifying, there were four teams within a tenth. What you do in one race doesn’t necessarily repeat in the next. We must maintain this mentality.” – Scuderia Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur concluded.

Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!