Vasseur: Ferrari Ready to Push McLaren Even Harder

Despite missing the podium in Bahrain, Ferrari proved they can challenge McLaren, and they’re gearing up to fight back in Jeddah.

Ferrari had the pace to aim higher in Bahrain — and team principal Frédéric Vasseur knows it.

The Scuderia finished just outside the podium, with Charles Leclerc in P4 and Carlos Sainz close behind. But Vasseur believes the race could have unfolded differently if luck had been on their side.

“We definitely had the potential to do better in Sakhir,” said Vasseur. “The safety car came out at the worst possible time for us — especially for Charles. It disrupted a strong second stint where our strategy was starting to come into play.”

Ferrari had opted for a more aggressive tire approach, running both drivers on two sets of mediums early in the race. The plan was to finish on either hards or softs, depending on how things evolved. But the mid-race safety car forced their hand.

“When the safety car came out, we had to react — and that threw off our entire strategy,” Vasseur explained. “That’s probably where we lost our best shot at the podium. Still, Charles and Carlos delivered strong drives, especially considering how tough qualifying had been. They brought home solid points, and that’s encouraging.”

Looking at the bigger picture, Vasseur sees progress.

“McLaren still has a small edge, but we were able to go wheel-to-wheel with them in the second stint. We were also fighting closely with Mercedes and even Red Bull at times. The performance is there — we just need to keep building on it.”

Ferrari’s focus now shifts to the next round in Saudi Arabia, where Vasseur hopes to see even more progress.

Ferrari Frustrated by Safety Car in Bahrain Battle

Explore Further>Gasly Delivers as Alpine Breaks Points Drought at Last
Follow us on >FACEBOOK and >TWITTERfor F1 updates

Vasseur: Ferrari Ready to Push McLaren Even Harder Vasseur: Ferrari Ready to Push McLaren Even Harder

The latest news in Formula 1

More on Formula 1