Frederic Vasseur commented on the qualifying session, with Leclerc finishing third while Hamilton only managed ninth.
It was a mixed qualifying session for Ferrari in Bahrain, with Leclerc securing third place, just a few tenths behind Piastri, while Hamilton could do no better than ninth, ending up almost a second off the day’s pole-sitter. Frederic Vasseur, speaking to Sky Sport Italia, analyzed the performance of the Scuderia’s two drivers and set his sights on the podium for tomorrow’s race.
Here’s what the Frenchman had to say:“Hamilton struggled on his final Q3 lap because he was right there before that. Overall, the pace is there; he just made a small mistake on the last attempt and didn’t quite put it all together—it’s a shame All three qualifying sessions were a bit chaotic for everyone; just look at how Russell struggled to get through Q2. From session to session, and even between stints, there’s a huge gap because the car is very sensitive to the wind. That applies to us as well as the others. The fact that the track temperature was so high really increased the gap: even a small issue in a corner affects the tyres, which then opens up the time difference.”
On expectations for tomorrow’s race, he added:“The podium is always possible, and starting from third place, we have to be ambitious. The main issue for everyone will be that none of us have done long stints with the tyres under the conditions we will have tomorrow, but we looked in good shape on race pace. A lot of work will be needed, and we hope that having an extra set of medium tyres could be an advantage. In Bahrain, there are many medium-speed corners and only a few high-speed ones, so regarding the new floor, we’ll have a better picture in Jeddah.”
