Ferrari team boss, Frederic Vasseur, expressed surprise at Charles Leclerc’s impressive fourth place in the Bahrain Grand Prix, despite facing serious brake issues. Leclerc, who started in second position, struggled to brake his car at turn 10 on several occasions. He lost a position to George Russell and was later overtaken by Sergio Perez and his teammate Carlos Sainz, dropping to fifth place. Leclerc managed to regain a position after Russell’s mistake, but lamented the fact that he could have finished second without the “impossible” brake problem. It was later revealed that Leclerc had to deal with a significant temperature difference in the front brakes, making it difficult to control the car. Vasseur admitted that it was unexpected for Leclerc to maintain fourth place under these circumstances. However, the issue was resolved later in the race, allowing Leclerc to maintain a decent pace.
Carlos Sainz, on the other hand, had a start below expectations, but managed to secure third place on the podium comfortably, finishing less than three seconds behind Perez’s Red Bull. Despite Ferrari establishing itself as the second fastest team in the first round, Vasseur believes there is room for improvement after an imperfect weekend. He noted that Ferrari potentially lost pole position and had track issues with Leclerc, while Sainz faced a challenging start. However, Sainz made a strong comeback and reduced the gap to the Red Bulls at the end of the race. Vasseur emphasized the need to progress and continue development, but acknowledged that the team scored valuable points in the race. Ferrari now heads to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix with 27 points, trailing Red Bull by 17 points but leading Mercedes by 11 points.
