Charles Leclerc, the driver from Monaco representing Ferrari, participated in the Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 2, Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, held at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on August 3, 2024. Ferrari Team Principal, Frederic Vasseur, believes that the gap between their team and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in Formula 1 is now only a matter of a few tenths of a second.
Once again, Leclerc emerged as the closest competitor to Verstappen in terms of single lap performance, with a deficit of three-tenths of a second, just like last week. However, a significant brake issue in Bahrain prevented Leclerc from showcasing his full potential, while his teammate Carlos Sainz finished just seconds behind Sergio Perez.
Despite securing a front-row starting position, Leclerc expressed dissatisfaction with the balance of his SF-24 car on new tires, which led him to try out two warm-up laps. Vasseur acknowledged that Ferrari needs to bring everything together in order to have a chance of challenging Verstappen.
Vasseur stated, “We had good runs at the beginning and the last one was also good. In the middle, it’s always challenging because in Jeddah, you’re uncertain whether to do a preparation lap or if scrubbed tires are better than new ones. The entire session is on the edge, and I think Leclerc found the right balance towards the end, and his pace was good. Perhaps Max did a better job, as he was two or three-tenths faster, and if we want to fight with him, we have to put everything together.”
In Bahrain, Red Bull’s slight advantage over a single lap translated into a significant lead in race conditions, with Verstappen winning by a margin of 22 seconds over Perez. However, Vasseur emphasized that Ferrari has managed to reduce the gap from last year by half and urged the team to keep striving for incremental improvements.
Vasseur continued, “Max seems very fast this time too. If we look at the race simulation he did, he was very quick. He was also fast on the flying lap, but we are not too far behind. It’s a matter of a few tenths. Of course, over 60 laps, it becomes a significant difference, but it ultimately comes down to tenths. We need to make those small steps forward, just like we did last year when we started one second behind and then improved to fight with him in certain situations. This year, we start in a better position, and we must maintain the same approach and dedication to further improvements. We must continue to push, and then we will see what the outcome will be.”
Vasseur also commended Oliver Bearman, who will be making his Formula 1 debut with Ferrari this weekend in place of Carlos Sainz, who is unable to participate due to appendicitis.
The 18-year-old Briton came close to outperforming compatriot Lewis Hamilton in the pole position shootout, falling just 0.036 seconds short, despite only having one practice hour in the car.
“It was an impressive session, and a fantastic day right from the start,” Vasseur commented on Bearman. “We must remember that I contacted him at 2 p.m., which was a very late call.
“He had to quickly get into the car and tackle the challenging Jeddah circuit, which is on par with Monaco and Baku in terms of difficulty.
“But overall, he had a very successful day considering he had to learn how to manage pit stops and starts. We covered all the necessary preparations this morning.
“The pace was there, although it wasn’t an easy session with the red flag interruptions. However, he narrowly missed out on reaching Q3 by a few hundredths of a second. Nevertheless, the main goal was not solely the result, as we knew it would be a tough challenge. I truly hope for a clean weekend with him, and that will also be our objective for tomorrow – to finish the race and do it right.”