Ferrari narrows the gap, but Red Bull still dominates in Bahrain

Bahrain GP: Ferrari narrows the gap

The 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix kicked off the new Formula 1 season with a promising start for Ferrari.

While Max Verstappen secured a comfortable victory for Red Bull, the Scuderia managed to reduce their deficit from last year's season-opener significantly.

Carlos Sainz finished third, 25.1 seconds behind Verstappen, a marked improvement from the 48.0-second gap in 2023.

Team principal Fred Vasseur acknowledged this progress, stating, "We compensated 50% of the gap with Red Bull in the race, compared to one year ago."

Technical setbacks

However, Ferrari faced several technical issues that hindered their challenge. Charles Leclerc battled brake problems throughout the race, with a substantial temperature delta between the left and right brakes causing locking issues.

Vasseur elaborated, "We had a huge delta of temperature between left and right, and it was pulling on the braking, and locking, and it was very difficult to fix it."

Damage limitation

Despite the adversities, the team executed effective damage control. Vasseur praised Leclerc's resilience and the pit wall strategy, stating,

"Honestly, during the first stint when I saw the situation, I was not very optimistic. But I think overall he did a very good job, and then from the pitwall also, because we were able to manage the situation to save P4 in these conditions."

Tyre performance improvements

One of Ferrari's primary targets with the SF-24 was addressing last season's tyre degradation woes.

While improvements were made, the pace delta to Red Bull remains a concern.

Vasseur admitted, "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."

Vasseur cautioned against drawing premature conclusions, highlighting the tight competition in the midfield.

"The gap between P1 and P10 was reduced by 50% compared to last year, it means for 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."

With the next race in Jeddah presenting a different circuit layout and tarmac characteristics, Vasseur believes a clearer picture of the championship will emerge after the Australian Grand Prix.

He stated, "Before Melbourne it will be difficult to have a clear picture of the championship."