The Scuderia has already halved the gap to Mercedes by the second qualifying session of the year, and the French manager can breathe a small sigh of relief.
Ferrari gains ground on Mercedes
Mercedes made a few mistakes during qualifying and Ferrari managed to move closer, indicating an encouraging trend that Frederic Vasseur was keen to underline. The Ferrari team principal explained that Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc might not yet have the car capable of winning, but the direction taken by the Scuderia is undoubtedly the correct one.
The time gaps confirm this impression. They remain significant, but they have been reduced by more than half compared to the previous qualifying session of the season, which took place last week in Melbourne. The result of the Chinese Grand Prix qualifying session therefore leaves a small window of opportunity for Ferrari which, considering the powerful starts the SF-26 has shown so far, could aim to put even more pressure in the race on pole-sitter Andrea Kimi Antonelli and on the current championship leader, George Russell.
The words of Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur
“It’s difficult to build a statistic based on only two events,” Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur explained to Sky microphones. “But it’s true that we are moving in the right direction. We were eight tenths behind in Melbourne, six yesterday and four today, which means we are on the right path and that there is a certain convergence in performance. However, the Mercedes cars are still a little bit faster than us on the straights, so we need to continue pushing in this direction. We managed to fight for a couple of laps in the Sprint and we will try to do something more tomorrow.”
The tire situation does not worry the team either. During the 19 laps of the 100-kilometer Sprint race, tire wear proved challenging for everyone, including Lewis Hamilton, who admitted after the checkered flag that he had destroyed his left-front tire during the early battles.
“That’s true, but this morning we were using the medium compound while we still have a set of hard tires and another set of mediums available for the race. I think things will probably go a bit better in the Grand Prix, also because we now understand the track better.”
The internal fight between Hamilton and Leclerc
Then there is another potential advantage: Ferrari’s strong race starts. “So far we have started well and it’s true that it has been one of our strengths, but in the end the others will improve as well. We are improving in qualifying, while they will improve in the areas where they are slightly weaker than us, so we don’t expect to gain three positions at every start throughout the whole season. But tomorrow we should be competitive.”
There are no concerns inside the Maranello garage following the small skirmishes between Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton during the Sprint. “You always have to manage these kinds of situations when two cars start side by side. I think it’s the same for every team and every driver. But they are professionals, and I believe it is positive for us to have two great drivers pushing each other,” concluded Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur.
