Bahrain Grand Prix: things are looking up for Ferrari

The Monegasque driver was thus able to join the battle even though he only had one set of new soft tires left for Q3. Therefore, he opted for a single attempt strategy to give it his all in one lap, which turned out to be successful.

He didn’t fail to mention the progress made compared to last season, as soon as he returned to the pits: “Guys, it’s only the first qualifying session but compared to last year, it’s a big step forward. Of course, we want to fight for pole position but I think we can be satisfied compared to last year.” The data backs him up since Ferrari is the team that has slowed down the least (due to the aerodynamic restrictions put in place since) of the whole field.

For his first weekend in red, Carlos Sainz can have a half-hearted smile. Certainly, he climbed to eighth place but is still dominated by his teammate at the most crucial moment when until now the Spaniard had the upper hand.

In Q2, the two drivers chose to go for attempts on soft tires while the other teams were mostly betting on mediums. This ended up costing Red Bull (Perez 11th) and AlphaTauri (Tsunoda 13th) dearly. On the contrary, the two Ferrari drivers secured their places in Q3 with a comfortable margin, setting the two best times in Q2, with a minimal difference: only a thousandth separated the two drivers! It was the first time since last year’s Silverstone Grand Prix that we could see both Ferraris participate in the final session on Saturday.

On the other hand, the hardest part remains to be done as the two men will have to manage softer tires at the start of the race: while this could offer them opportunities at the beginning, they will then be on the defensive against drivers wearing mediums.