Ferrari’s head head Frederic Vasseur said he “liked” that Lewis Hamilton was disappointed with his qualifying result at the Grand Prix Bahrain, when he appreciated his driver’s thinking and a “very strong” recovery unit.
Hamilton after last Saturday after qualifying ninth in Sakhir cut the character down after ninth place and described his performance as “poor” and apologized to the team for “not doing good work”.
But the seven -time world champion on the fifth race day offered more promising, and Hamilton then suggested, “I think I figured out how he likes to drive the car.”
Although last month he claimed a brilliant pole and victory in a short sprint format in the second round in China in China, Hamilton has been watched by the new teammate Charles Leclerc for decades in Mercedes.
And when he spoke after the race, Vasseur understands: “You will not replace 12 years of cooperation for two weeks or two races. We must improve, but that is true for everyone in the team, in the Paddock, that DNA for our sport is to try to do a better job.
“It is good to have Lewis with this approach” I have to improve and adapt to the car “and we will adapt to Lewis, but had to take a step. This happens in a positive way and in a very constructive way between us.
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Most important from 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix from the international circuit Bahrain
“The fact that he was a little down a little day last night I like it. If he returns and says,” I’m 10, it’s a shame, so he was disappointed because he was better for the rest of the weekend.
“In F1 today, if you make a mistake, you lose six or seven positions. It wasn’t three or four years ago.
“We have to stay calm in terms of performance judgment, because sometimes, for almost nothing, you can change a good weekend to a very poor.
“I appreciated the direction of Lewis on Saturday and I did my best to push him a little, and on Sunday he was in very good shape.”
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Ted Kravitz discusses how important it is for Lewis Hamilton to perform the work and how the driver Ferrari could improve his performance during these sessions
Vasseur said that Hamilton’s post-qualifying disappointment was normal and that he had seen positive grades from British performance for the rest of the weekend.
“I understand his frustration from the qualification, because if you look at all training sessions, then Q1 and Q2, was a plus or minus one tenth of Charles,” he added.
“Then you arrive in Q3, the first round is deleted and the second that he made a mistake and you pay the price. Sure, a little frustration for him and for us too.
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Lewis Hamilton releases around Max Verstappen to P8 from the Bahrain Grand Prix
“He had a very strong recovery, a solid race that came back. I think the race time compared to the first two or three was almost similar.”
Brundle: Age is not Lewis’s problem for qualifications
As with almost all the most important F1 records, Hamilton claimed more pole positions (104) than any other driver in history, but his poor qualifying record versus his teammates have raised a debate as to whether the seven -time champion remains as fast as it once did.
George Russell Ho last year in Mercedes last year last year, while this year last season in the last season in the last season in Mercedes this year.
Hamilton turned 40 in January and is the second oldest driver on the grid after 43 -year -old Fernando Alonso,
However, Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle does not believe that age is a factor that holds Hamilton back over one round.
“We got used to those sad conversations last year, it is now repeating in Ferrari,” Brundle said about Hamilton’s post-qualification notes in Bahrain.
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After the disappointing qualification of the Grand Prix from Bahrain Lewis Hamilton says he believes he “does not work” and apologizes to engineers and fans Ferrari
“My experience is that different things go (with eyes). I noticed my eyes at night night at Le Mans.
“I wouldn’t say there is one size, but I still feel that age is not a Lewis problem. I really don’t think he has lost any vision or lost any ride as such. It seems a little lost in how he likes it.
“And he has a number of young drivers who have experience with more than 100 races, and are still at the age of twenty.”
How fast can Ferrari improve the pace of your car?
The Shanghai sprint aside, Leclerc and Hamilton’s fourth and fifth place in Bahrain were Ferrari’s best combined result of their mostly disappointed season.
Their car appeared especially quickly during the middle phase of the race, although in the end, despite the appearance of a security car that closed the pack on the last 22 laps, the runner Leclerc still ended 20 seconds behind the winner of McLaren Oscar Piastri in Sakhir.
“It is a little different from the situation to the situation,” Vasseur said about the pace of their car. “You can have some points when we fight McLarens like China, or sometimes in Bahrain.
“Overall, if you look, on average of the season I think we miss two or three or four tenths. We miss something. That means we have to continue working and not force things.
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Sky F1’s Ted Kravitz reflects on all the big points of speaking from the Bahrain Grand Prix
“If you look at the situation, things are much better when they are extreme and there are more tire management.”
Vasseur added: “The balance is not easy with tires, because we have different tire behavior, with conditions it means that the balance is also changing a lot.
“When I say,“ I, I think Mercedes and Red Bull (also Red Bull are fighting more, compared to McLaren for consistency and also have a little frustration for drivers.
“At the end of FP2 is a good balance. It is not at the beginning of FP3, but this is a place where we have to improve together. It is not a driver, it’s a team. It’s a teamwork and comes from us.”
Ferrari sets out for Saudi Arabia for this weekend race in fourth place in the championship of designers and already 94 points at the pace set by the dominant leaders McLaren.
Saudi Arab GP data, British start time and Sky Sports F1’s Live Schedule – Practice, Qualification and Race
Thursday 17th April
- 16:00: Driver’s press conference
Friday 18th April
- 10.50: 00: Practice F2
- 12:00: Practice Academy F1
- 14:00: Saudi Arabic practice GP One (session starts at 14:30)
- 15:55: F2 qualification
- 16:40: Team boss’s press conference
- 17:45: Saudi Arab practical practice two (session starts at 18:00)
- 19:25: Qualification of the Academy F1
- 8.10pm: Show F1
Saturday April 19
- 13:15: F1 Academy Race 1
- 14:50: Saudi Arabic practice GP three (session starts at 14:30)*
- 16:10: F2 Sprint
- 17:10: Saudi Arab GP qualification
- 18:00: Qualification of Saudi Arab GP
Sunday 20th April
- 13:00: F1 Academy Race 2
- 2,20pm: Feature Feature Feature Feature
- 16:30: Saudi Arabic practical authority: Sunday Grand Prix
- 18:00: Saudi Arabic Grand Prize*
- 20:00: Saudi Arab GP Reaction: Chessboard
*Live also at the main Sky Sports event
Formula 1 completes its first triple header from 2025 in Jeddah with Saudi Arab Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with now – no contract whenever cancel
