Ferrari Formula 1 team principal Fred Vasseur expresses mixed emotions after the first round of the 2024 Formula championship, the Bahrain Grand Prix held at the 5.412 km Bahrain International Circuit located in Sakhir, but underscores that the Italian side has recovered 50% of the deficit to Red Bull from 2023. Twelve months ago in Bahrain, Carlos Sainz ended the Sakhir race in fourth place, 48.0 seconds behind race winner Max Verstappen, while yesterday the Ferrari man was third, 25.1 seconds behind the Red Bull driver.
The Ferrari team boss highlights this reduced gap as evidence of the Maranello team starting from a more solid point this year as compared to the previous championship. The French manager also points to Charles Leclerc being able to overcome brake problems to secure fourth place behind Carlos Sainz as a positive takeaway from the Bahrain Grand Prix.
“You can say, a bit of a mixed feeling after the race for sure,” said Fred Vasseur in an interview at the end of the Sakhir race – “The positive is that we were able to do the pole position yesterday with the fastest lap of the [Q2] session. And perhaps that we compensated 50% of the gap with Red Bull in the race, compared to one year ago, because then we were at 50-something seconds in the race. The negative is that it’s not enough, and that we had again, too many issues during the weekend. We need to fix the issue on Charles’s car with the brakes. But I think overall he did a very good job, and then from the pitwall also, because we were able to manage the situation to save P4 in these conditions. Honestly, during the first stint when I saw the situation, I was not very optimistic.” – the Ferrari team principal continued.
Proving more details on Charles Leclerc’s brake problem, Fred Vasseur explained: “We had a huge delta of temperature between left and right, and it was pulling on the braking, and locking, and it was very difficult to fix it. And at one stage it came back when he was in the slipstream of someone. The brakes switched on, and the last part of the race was OK.”
In the previous season, the Italian side grappled with the issue of tires experiencing a drop in performance throughout the race stints, and rectifying this problem has been a primary focus with the SF-24 single-seater. Although there have been improvements, the apprehension still lingers regarding the pace difference compared to Red Bull.
“This is also a mixed feeling. One year ago, I think in the race we were at eight/nine tenths, perhaps today we did 50% of the gap. But again, we are not there to be at four tenths. But if you compare with last year, and the recovery that we had during the season, the fact that we are able to fight with them in the last part, I think we have a good opportunity. It’s also a much better base to develop this year. I think the car is much easier for them to feel the car, from where we are weak and where we can improve. Last year it was much more difficult to have a good read on the car.” – the French manager added.
Fred Vasseur acknowledged that, despite Scuderia Ferrari boasting the second-fastest package at the Sakhir, no assumptions can be made, as competitors like Mercedes, McLaren, and Aston Martin are at the forefront of the pursuit.
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“It’s very difficult to understand, because at the end of the day, for sure we are perhaps P2 today as a team, but it’s also very, very tight. The gap between P1 and P10 was reduced by 50% compared to last year, it means for that every single issue that you will have or if the set-up is not the right one, or if the car is suited more with one track, it will change completely the classification of the top 10. It means that we don’t have to try to draw a conclusion today. It’s far too early. I’m quite happy with the points that we scored today. I was expecting a bit more, but due to circumstances it’s a good one. And let’s be focused on next week, and start from scratch.”
When questioned about the Maranello team’s ability to catch up with Red Bull throughout the 2024 Formula One campaign, Fred Vasseur emphasized that a more definitive outlook will become apparent in the upcoming races: “First I’m not focused on Red Bull, I’m focused on myself and to try to get the best from what we have,” he said. “It was not completely a clean sheet for us this weekend, we had too many small issues in quali yesterday, in the race today. And also we have to consider that Jeddah will be a completely different story, it’s not the same layout, and it’s not the same tarmac. And we will have a better picture on the global situation after Melbourne probably, I would say. Before Melbourne it will be difficult to have a clear picture of the championship.” – the Ferrari team boss concluded.
