Despite having reduced the gap to Red Bull compared to 2023, Frederic Vasseur admitted that the positive performance Ferrari had in Bahrain was still “not enough” and there are still issues to fix.
Ferrari demonstrated to have both the single-lap and the race pace in Bahrain. Charles Leclerc set the fastest lap of the weekend in Q2. Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz managed to step on the podium, not too far from Sergio Perez, and 25 seconds behind Max Verstappen (which was basically half the gap the Spaniard had in the 2023 Grand Prix). Leclerc finished fourth after a difficult first stint as he had to deal with issues with his breaking system for the whole race.
Looking at the result, the Scuderia proved to be the second-fastest team, at least in Bahrain. However, Vasseur has mixed feelings regarding the first weekend of the season.
“You can say, a bit of a mixed feeling after the race for sure,” said Vasseur when asked about Ferrari’s race by Motorsport.com.
“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 pit wall 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.”
Ferrari team principal continued by saying that the gap to Red Bull is still there and is difficult to close. However, considering Sainz wasn’t too far from Perez in the last part of the race, Vasseur is optimistic that the team might have “a good opportunity” this year.
“This is also a mixed feeling,” said Vasseur. “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 it 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.”
Vasseur also admitted that being the second-fastest outfit in Bahrain doesn’t mean Ferrari will always be in that position in 2024. The gaps between all 10 squads reduced massively, and anything can change very easily, especially with Mercedes, McLaren, and Aston Martin being not far behind.
“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,” he said.
“The gap between P1 and P10 was reduced by 50% compared to last year. It means 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.”