Following 2024 Formula 1’s first practice sessions, the F1 teams again took out their racing machines for the season’s first qualifying rounds ahead of the Bahrain GP. Scuderia Ferrari displayed the most impressive performance at the qualifying rounds, just until the final moment.
In the aftermath of the qualifying session, Ferrari’s Fred Vasseur expressed his optimism towards his team ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Fred Vasseur discusses chances of Bahrain GP 2024 victory
In the post-qualifying interview with Sky Sports, Fred Vasseur, Team Principal of Scuderia Ferrari, expressed his satisfaction over his team’s performances at the qualifying rounds, and looked forward to the Bahrain GP with optimism.
During the media session, he was asked, “Are you satisfied with the qualifying result in Sakhir, or were you expecting more?”
“We were first in Q1 and first in Q2. You always expect to be first in Q3, but I think we didn’t manage to put everything together. However, what we’ve seen is encouraging. We managed to stay competitive until the end of the session. Now we will see how things go over the long distance,” Vasseur replied.
Fred Vasseur was full of smiles during the session, which grabbed the attention of the interviewer. “You’re smiling… This Ferrari seems to be to your liking,” the reporter asked Vasseur.
“I’m smiling because I’m happy. This is a good scenario and quite faithful to the scenario we had at the end of the tests. But now what matters is the race,” he replied.
Seeing Vasseur’s mention of the race, the reporter asked, “Can Ferrari aim to win tomorrow?”
“It’s difficult to have a clear picture for tomorrow’s race. According to yesterday’s simulations, Max has an advantage for tomorrow. Behind him, all the others are quite close, with very similar values. Almost with the same pace and the same degradation for everyone. The start will be important, but we have good feelings,” Vasseur said, concluding the interview.
Fred Vasseur’s strong words come after Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc recorded the fastest lap times at the Q1 and Q2 rounds of the Bahrain GP.
Charles Leclerc sheds light on difficulties on Q3
Charles Leclerc, the current Ferrari #1 driver, displayed impressive performances in the Q1 (1:30.243) and Q2 (1:29.165) rounds of the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Monégasque racer was close to securing P1, right before he fell short to Max Verstappen in Q3 he crossed the chequered flag only 0.228s later than table-topper Verstappen.
In the post-session interview, he was asked about his ‘close call to securing P1’ in the Q3 round. Reflecting on his difficulties in Q3, he replied by saying, “I know. I think the biggest mistake there was not having a second set of soft in Q3.”
Emphasizing on his Q3 struggles, he added, “When I put the soft again in Q3, the track had changed, the wind had changed a little bit. And with the scrub in the middle, I couldn’t really follow the track. And I found myself with a car and a balance that was out of place. And, unfortunately, that’s what was possible.”
“And I’m quite happy with the lap. Just the balance of the car wasn’t in the right place anymore,” Leclerc said.
The Ferrari duos, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. will start from P2 and P4 at the Bahrain Grand Prix today, and hopefully try to back up Fred Vasseur’s optimism with their performances.
Can Ferrari light fire to Vasseur’s optimism by clinching the Bahrain Grand Prix? Or will Leclerc fall short at the last moment again? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
