Difficult Qualifying
It wasn’t a particularly positive qualifying session on Friday for Scuderia Ferrari. The Maranello team, which had performed well in the sole free practice session, saw its drivers finish in fifth and 12th positions. Carlos Sainz, in particular, was disappointed, as he was eliminated in Q2, forcing him to make a comeback in Sunday’s race to gather crucial points for the Constructors’ Championship. Charles Leclerc, on the other hand, fared better. He finished seventh in Q3 but benefited from the demotion of both McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, as their lap times from the final run were canceled.
Track Limits Chaos
Speaking to Sky Sport F1, Frederic Vasseur, the Team Principal of Ferrari, commented on the session’s results, particularly the numerous issues related to track limits. “It’s not a great sight for TV when two lap times are canceled due to track limits,” acknowledged the French manager. “It’s not pleasing to watch even from the pit wall. It becomes a challenging situation for us to handle as well. We already knew that Qatar could be like this – it was two years ago, and we imagined it would be the same today. My concern is also for the race,” Fred Vasseur warned. “Because the gusty winds will make it very difficult for the drivers to manage those 5 cm they have to stay within the track limits.”
The fear shared by all is a repeat of the Austria incident, where the Grand Prix results were analyzed for hours after the checkered flag and completely rewritten. “In these situations, it’s important to have real-time information to convey to the drivers,” emphasized a concerned Fred Vasseur. “At Spielberg, we were informed five laps later, and in the meantime, there were more violations, but I believe [the stewards] are also improving in this aspect. It didn’t go well for us with track limits in Austria, but it’s not easy, and I can also imagine it’s tough for the race director to monitor 20 cars. But when a track is homologated, they should also think about it,” added the frustrated Ferrari manager.
Ferrari’s Struggles
The issue of track limits and canceled lap times does not hide the lack of competitiveness of the SF-23 on the Qatari track. “It’s not a surprising result. We didn’t expect to be in great shape on this track,” admitted Fred Vasseur. “It’s a shame because we’re missing 6 tenths from Max Verstappen: we lose 3 tenths in turn 1 and another 3 in turn 13, which means we have two different problems. But we could have done a better job today.” – he pointed out.
“We didn’t have the tires ready for turn 1, and we also had a technical issue in turn 13, which will be easy to fix. But the main problem was with Carlos, who didn’t have the tires ready for turn 1. Overall, I think the first or second row could have been reachable. In the Sprint, it will be the first time we do a long run, and it will be a test, but we must keep in mind that there will be points up for grabs tomorrow. There will be another qualifying session in the hottest part of the day, and we will make another attempt, but I think we can do better,” the French manager concluded.
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