What to expect from Ferrari at the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix. What to expect from Ferrari in the season opener.

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz want to make Ferrari protagonist again from the Bahrain Grand Prix, having as their goal the minimum third row in qualifying and points in the race, and the maximum fourth position and top five.

The expectation is growing for the start of the 2021 Formula 1 season and in particular for the possibility of Ferrari to cancel a disappointing 2020. In fact there is curiosity to understand if the Maranello team will be able to overturn the predictions that see it as the sixth force of the championship by entering the fight for the third place in the constructors’ standings, and to narrow last year’s gap from Mercedes and Red Bull.

Despite being at the center of discussions even in these hours, in Maranello everybody has been quiet and focused on analyzing the data gethered at the Bahrain testing session, before returning to Sakhir. After these meetings, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz reassured the fans which were worried given the mixed signals seen in the three days of testing, making Pierre Gasly suspect that the potential of the SF21 is higher than that seen two weeks ago.

The relationship between the two drivers is completely different compared to a year ago, which is one of the elements that make us believe in the possibility of redemption for Ferrari. While respecting each other a lot in 2019 and 2020, there were many moments of tension between Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc, and the team was also affected.

To give Ferrari great confidence, there is also the top speed on those straights that only a few months ago were the weak point of the SF1000. The new power unit made a big step forward in the qualifying simulations, while the SF21 needs to improve on pace and tyre management.

So what to expect for the Bahrain Grand Prix? Ferrari’s minimum objective is to monopolize the third row in qualifying, and get both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz into points. The best case scenario, perhaps hoping for a Perez who still needs time to find the feeling with his Red Bull car, is the second row on Saturday and the top five on Sunday.