Ferrari team principal, Frederic Vasseur, refrained from making any predictions on how the field will perform at the Bahrain Grand Prix following the pre-season testing. Vasseur, who joined the team from Alfa Romeo during the winter break, was content with the programme and emphasized on the importance of gathering mileage.
Although Red Bull’s Max Verstappen set the fastest lap time on Day 1, Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu took the lead on Day 2 and Sergio Perez from Red Bull was the fastest overall on Day 3. Despite Red Bull’s pace, Vasseur was pleased with the team’s performance and felt they were on track with their targets.
“The main target was getting as much mileage under our belt as possible and we did that, although it’s also true that you always want to do more and have more time. But it’s the same for everyone,” said Vasseur. “Whenever we managed to put everything together the performance seemed to be there, but we are clearly still in the process of getting to know the car so it’s too early to say anything.”
Charles Leclerc, who led the morning session on the final day of testing, echoed Vasseur’s sentiments and was pleased that the data gathered on track matched the data gathered in the simulator, wind tunnel, and computers at the factory. He added that the team made good progress with the set-up work and tested different driving styles to understand what suits him best in the new car.
Ferrari aims to win their first title since 2008 as they compete with Red Bull over the next 23 Grands Prix, including a new track in Las Vegas.
