Ferrari is gearing up for the second race weekend of the 2024 Formula 1 season after a bittersweet first encounter. On one hand, the impressions from the preseason testing sessions have been confirmed, with the red car carving out the role of the second force, at least for now. On the other hand, there is regret for a result that could have been better than a third and fourth place. As team boss Fred Vasseur acknowledged at the end of the Bahrain race, the technical issue that struck Charles Leclerc’s car prevented the Monegasque driver from extracting the maximum potential from the vehicle.
However, this did not erase the encouraging signs from the Sakhir weekend, allowing Ferrari to approach the Saudi Arabian stage with optimism.
Frédéric Vasseur: “I expect to be among the best again”
“The first race of the 2024 Formula One championship confirmed that we have worked in the right direction during the winter,” said Frédéric Vasseur, while recognizing that the gap to Max Verstappen is proof that the Red Bull number 1 is operating at another level. “The gap to Max Verstappen in the race is still significant,” he commented. Leaving Bahrain behind with positive feelings bodes well for the Saudi Arabia round, where challenges await, as the race will take place on a track with different characteristics than Sakhir, as well as different conditions for the drivers.
“In Jeddah, we face a completely different test,” continued the team principal of Ferrari. “We want to verify that the good things the SF-24 has shown in these first weeks are also confirmed on such a different track.” – he added.
One of the major challenges of the first race undoubtedly concerned tire management, due to the very rough asphalt of the Bahrain circuit. Since Jeddah is a city circuit, the surface will be smoother and this will have a lesser impact on tire degradation, which Fred Vasseur has deemed negligible. A factor that will help the teams that struggled more in the first race from this perspective. However, the team principal of Ferrari has also emphasized the challenges to face: “We will encounter high-speed corners for the first time that will highlight the load and aerodynamic efficiency aspects of the cars.” Another factor to pay attention to during the weekend will be the significant evolution the track will undergo session after session. Nevertheless, pre-race expectations align with the impressions left by the Sakhir weekend: “Charles and Carlos have always felt comfortable in Jeddah. I expect to be among the best again, capable of achieving significant results with both drivers in both qualifying and the race.” – the French manager concluded ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah.
Leave a Reply