Ferrari pessimistic about Bahrain chances, but still hoping to fight at the front

12:00, 10 Apr

byKada Sarkozi

Ferrari had a tough start to the season after the first three rounds. As the season continues with the Bahrain GP, team principal Frederic Vasseur already tempered expectations, even if a glimmer of hope is there.

Other than Lewis Hamilton's Sprint victory at the Chinese GP - which was the first in the event for both the driver and team since its first introduction back in 2021 -, it's been a rocky start to the Scuderia's 2025 season.

They are yet to score a podium finish on a Sunday as well, and are only fourth in the constructors' standings behind rivals McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull Racing.

Even as teams have plenty of data gathered from the upcoming circuit on the current calendar, team principal Vasseur remained cautious ahead of the weekend.

"With the fourth race of the season taking place in Bahrain we get the opportunity to see how much progress we have made with the SF-25 in terms of extracting its potential since we were last here for the pre-season test at the very end of February," he began.

"We are not where we want to be in terms of car performance, and we are working hard with the aim of making solid progress. This will be our main focus in Sakhir, with the support of those working back at the factory in Maranello."

Vasseur yet to write off the entire weekend

However, the Frenchman is yet to draw conclusions. "Even the smallest detail can be important over the weekend, because gaining just one tenth can mean being ahead of some of our rivals, both in Saturday’s qualifying and in Sunday’s race," he added.

After three Grand Prix weekends, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are in sixth and eighth positions in the drivers' standings.

This article was written in collaboration with Marnik Kok