Ferrari continues to be the benchmark after the victory in Monza two weeks ago. Today’s pole position in Baku by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz’s third place show that the SF-24 is comfortable on certain types of tracks, and this is Ferrari’s moment.
Frédéric Vasseur spoke to Sky Sport F1 after today’s qualifying session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, aware that while today’s result boosts confidence, the real focus is tomorrow. The race is where the points are awarded.
Fred Vasseur, what do you think of today’s result? Does it give you a lot of confidence ahead of tomorrow’s race?
“I think we should enjoy the pole. But the important thing is tomorrow’s race. Honestly, the gaps we created today don’t matter. It’s not like tomorrow our rivals will start farther back because of it. This means we must focus only on ourselves. We have a competitive pace both on single laps and in race simulations. It’s important to have both cars in the front tomorrow, but there are still the others to consider. The race will be difficult, but we need to concentrate on ourselves.”
Ferrari has a big opportunity to win in Baku. Does that worry you?
“I don’t need to be worried, but focused. It’s true that Charles has a kind of strong self-confidence, especially in Monaco and here in Baku, and the most important thing is to keep that confidence under control. We don’t need to overdo things; we just need to do the minimum necessary. I believe Charles can keep everything under control. It will be a long race, but so far, so good. We’ve always had better race pace than qualifying pace, which is a positive sign for tomorrow.”
With the track so dirty and slower compared to past years, will tire management be key here in Baku?
“The track is very dirty, and it has been since the beginning of the weekend. We’re two seconds slower than last year, but tire degradation has been manageable for everyone. I think strategies will be dictated more by the Safety Car than by the tires.”
Who will be Ferrari’s biggest rival in tomorrow’s race?
“I don’t know who will be our main competitor tomorrow, because the race pace among the top four teams is very close. We know our race pace is good, so we just need to focus on doing our job and keeping everything under control.”
Ferrari is 39 points behind Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship. Do you still believe in winning the title?
“I don’t know how many points we are behind Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship. But the most important thing is to stay focused day by day. We can’t make certain mistakes. Mercedes went from two wins to a sixth and seventh place in the next race. This means it can happen to anyone. We need to score good points everywhere. Maybe tomorrow we’ll have a chance to reduce the gap to Red Bull, but let’s focus on this race and nothing else.”
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