Fred Vasseur reacts to Ferrari’s practice: “Verstappen is fast, but we are there” | 2024 Bahrain GP. Frédéric Vasseur comments on the official opening day of the new F1 season.

The team principal of Ferrari did not want to reveal too much after the first day of practice at Sakhir, but the race pace in the simulations conducted by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz was good. Max is the favorite, but everyone behind is closer.

At Ferrari, after the first two free practice sessions of the 2024 Formula 1 season held today at Sakhir, there is caution, but with a hint of optimism that never hurts.

Frédéric Vasseur, team principal of the Prancing Horse, appeared very calm in his statements to Sky Sport F1 to comment on the official opening day of the new season, a sign that the SF-24 has started well, and even though there is work to be done for improvement, the foundation from which the Maranello team starts is more than solid.

“Today went well overall, but it’s not easy to get a clear picture of the performances. However, this morning in Free Practice 1, we were all quite close, within a tenth, and a tenth is 2.5 kilograms of fuel. This means it’s very difficult to get a clear picture of the performances. Both Sainz and Leclerc did a pretty good race stint simulation, but let’s focus on ourselves and try to improve the potential we have.”

Fred Vasseur emphasized how the SF-24 is the result of work that has led to much better tire management compared to what the SF-23 did last year. The race simulation pace of Leclerc and Sainz was good, surpassed by only a few tenths by Max Verstappen.

“We have corrected the major problem we had with the car last year, which was tire degradation, but also sensitivity to the wind and other factors. Today was a good demonstration. There was a lot of wind today, but it was quite clear that we have improved. Pure performance on a single lap is different from race pace, and tomorrow we will have a clearer picture.”

“We had already made a good step forward on the wind issue in the second part of last year. We started from that base, and this is positive for us because now we have a clearer picture, and it is much easier to develop the car when you feel it, whereas at the beginning of last year, it was not so easy.”

Today, Charles Leclerc finished the day in ninth place in the overall standings. His qualifying simulation was hindered first by a driving error (wheel lock on a curb) and then by Lance Stroll blocking the path in the first sector. However, Fred Vasseur is not too concerned because he knows well the characteristics and skill of the Monegasque when it matters most during qualifying.

“Charles made a mistake on the first lap and had traffic on the second. But this is not a drama because the qualifying is tomorrow. In the end, I think he was still able to do a good lap despite the problems he had. The one he set on the third lap was a good time; let’s see how it goes tomorrow.”

To conclude, the Ferrari manager did not want to make predictions for the upcoming days. Max Verstappen will certainly be in the mix, if not the absolute favorite for pole and victory. However, it seems that the margins between the Dutchman and the main rivals are narrower than in 2023 when he was the three-time champion.

“Front row tomorrow? Well, let’s see. I don’t know what happened to Max today because I expected him to go faster. I was a bit surprised. But his race pace was competitive; he was a bit faster than everyone else. I think he will find the rhythm even on a single lap tomorrow. Beyond Max, we were all very close. It becomes impossible to predict how it will go. We don’t even know how much fuel the others had, so it’s hard to say.” – the Ferrari boss concluded.