F1 | Vasseur: “Max isn't that far away. A matter of a few tenths”

Frédéric Vasseur returns to see a competitive Ferrari. After the podium in Sakhir, in Jeddah the first Ferrari, that of Charles Leclerc, will start from the front row next to the usual Max Verstappen. Oliver Bearman, replacing the injured Carlos Sainz, made his debut with an encouraging 11th place in qualifying.

In short, for the men from Maranello there seem to be all the elements to be optimistic, even in an emergency situation like the one the Scuderia is experiencing this weekend due to Sainz's illness.

Vasseur appeared on Sky Sport F1 at the end of Qualifying to take stock of the situation. It's impossible not to comment on the performances of the rookie Bearman with an ideal caress, without forgetting the great lap that allowed Charles Leclerc to climb to the front row.

The expectations for the race, then, seem to be interesting. It won't be easy to beat Verstappen, but Leclerc's race pace shown yesterday calls for optimism.

Vasseur, how do you rate rookie Bearman's performance today?
“Ollie had a fantastic performance today. We called him at 2pm (local) and told him he should get in the car in FP3 in Jeddah. He did a great job and only missed Q3 by a couple of seconds. hundredths. For me he had an excellent session. This morning we concentrated on making him practice the procedures, the start, the pit stops and so on. Tomorrow will be another challenge, but today went well.”

Yesterday you tried the Softs on long runs. Will this be an option for you when you leave?
“We'll see tomorrow if we start with the Softs. Last week we had 2 cars in the top positions, while this time one. Yesterday we had a good pace in the race simulation. The important thing is to focus on ourselves and have a good strategy, because here in Jeddah there were often red flags, Safety Cars that made the race unpredictable. We will have to be opportunistic at the right moments.”

Did you think you were closer to Verstappen in qualifying? Leclerc seemed annoyed at the end of the tests…
“We knew it would be a hard-fought qualifying and it was. It was more difficult to put together a good lap with new tires because you have to get them up to temperature. It was easier with used Softs. In the last attempt Charles did an excellent preparation lap and an excellent fast lap, but it wasn't enough to beat Max. We'll see tomorrow. We have a good pace and we don't have to think about the others. If Charles was disappointed it's because he's a competitor, second place isn't enough for him and I agree with him, I support him. I like that attitude.”

How do you expect to find Sainz in two weeks in Australia?
“I don't know how we will find Carlos in two weeks. I know the operation was done early this afternoon and it went well, but it's too early to make a plan. We will meet with the surgeon early next week and then we will make a decision. We must pay attention to him and his recovery, without rushing too much. Of course I would be happy to have Carlos back as soon as possible, but the important thing is Carlos, not the races.”

Do you think Ferrari can beat Verstappen in tomorrow's race? Are there any possibilities?
“Max seems very fast this time too. If we look at the race simulation he did he was very fast. On the flying lap he was very fast, but we are not too far from him. It's a question of tenths. Of course, over 60 laps it becomes a lot , but it's a question of tenths. We need to be able to make those small steps forward that we were able to make last year to take it back. Last year we started 1 second behind and then we improved, coming to fight with him in some situations. This year we start in a better position and we will have to maintain the same approach and the same application to improve even in small details. We must continue to push, then we will see what the result will be.”