Fred Vasseur: “10 kg of fuel more or less can take you from first to sixth-seventh place”. Fred Vasseur emphasized that very little is needed to excel or hide in terms of the fuel on board.

Today, the truth in Qualifying

A Mercedes one-two with Lewis Hamilton ahead of George Russell. This is the verdict of the second free practice session of the 2024 Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix, which few would have predicted yesterday after the three days of testing, where in any case, George Russell had hinted at good potential even on the flying lap.

The W15 cars were ‘feared’ more for their race pace, and today, starting from 5:00 PM, they could face the ‘comeback’ of more credible rivals. As our telemetric analysis highlighted, it is likely that Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have already asked ‘a lot’ from the Mercedes power unit in yesterday’s qualifying simulation, and when the engines are pushed to the maximum this afternoon, Ferrari and Honda will have – as always – something more in terms of pure power.

Sergio Perez had emphasized on the eve of the weekend that the Red Bull was indeed fast but not as fast as one might expect. The RB20 is a new car that needs to be ‘broken in,’ and Max Verstappen did not seem so concerned at the end of an anonymous Friday in terms of absolute performance but still positive judging by the race pace, the great weapon of the RB19, which currently does not seem to be so devastating in this very first version of the RB20.

For now, there seems to be a nine-way battle for the front rows, involving Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren, and Fernando Alonso. Charles Leclerc failed to put together a clean lap in FP2 between a lock-up in Turn 4 and traffic, but it would be surprising not to see the #16 SF-24 – a pole position specialist – not fighting for the front row. In the press conference, Ferrari’s team principal, Frederic Vasseur, emphasized that very little is needed to excel or hide in terms of the fuel on board: “Just 10 kg of fuel more or less can take you from first to sixth-seventh position,” the words of the head of the Ferrari pit wall. The French manager is nevertheless satisfied with how the season has started compared to 2023: “This year we already have a satisfactory understanding of the car that will allow us to work on development with a clear direction right away, and it’s a good feeling.” – he concluded.