2024 Bahrain GP: Carlos Sainz matches Sergio Perez's pace, Charles Leclerc battles his Ferrari SF-24

There’s a bit of regret within the Ferrari team over the Bahrain Grand Prix result. Carlos Sainz clinched third place after a consistent race in which he matched Sergio Perez for most of the team. A lot of disappointment, however, for Charles Leclerc: the Monegasque driver had to deal with a brake issue that developed practically at the start of the race, making his first stint a real nightmare. Working hard with the car, Charles Leclerc managed to bring his SF-24 across the finish line, but it’s clear the expectations were quite different.

Clearly, we’re not talking about victory, because Max Verstappen showed to have much more in terms of race pace, albeit less dominant compared to 2023, but the gap of 25 seconds from the first Ferrari, that of Carlos Sainz, is still significant. As already mentioned, however, the fight with Sergio Perez seems to be within reach for the SF-24 cars at the moment, and the last stint, with two different tire compounds in favor of the Mexican (soft versus Carlos’s hard) showed us that the pace was more or less the same.

Ferrari: Sainz Consistent and Close to Perez

Carlos Sainz’s race was solid, showing that Ferrari has definitively made a significant step forward compared to twelve months ago. The gap from Max Verstappen in 2023 was 48 seconds (coincidentally with the Spaniard), now “only” 25. Still a lot, it’s true, but in Formula 1 it’s very difficult to turn the situation around overnight, it takes time and planning, and this time, after a long while, there is a feeling that work is really being done in the right direction.

Carlos Sainz managed the tires best, setting a consistent pace and overtaking three cars, which allowed him to get on the podium. In the last stint, he managed to keep pace with Perez, which was quite surprising, according to the Spaniard. It’s still not enough, but compared to last year it’s certainly a good start. The Maranello team’s strategy involved two stints with the hard tires because with this tire they have less degradation and once they manage to bring it up to temperature, Ferrari have the chance to push.

Carlos Sainz’s pace was steady, as already seen in the pre-season testing session last week. Ferrari therefore lays important foundations for progress. It requires a lot of patience, also because Max Verstappen gives the impression of competing in a different sport even compared to his teammate Sergio Perez, but already next week, at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah, we might see something different, being a city circuit, very fast and with smooth asphalt. A real test, the second in a row, for the SF-24.

The Bahrain Grand Prix was a difficult test on a circuit with very high degradation and the rear tires usually suffer, which was a main weakness for the Italian side in 2023. In pre-season testing, Ferrari learned a lot, but being able to challenge Red Bull requires much more in terms of development.

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As pointed out by Carlos Sainz, last year Ferrari managed to beat Sergio Perez, while Max Verstappen is hard to catch because he manages the degradation very well, but if the Maranello put two cars in front of him in qualifying, doing well in strategy, Ferrari can try to do something and hope to stop him, whereas when the Dutchman starts in front he has a very strong pace. According to Carlos, Red Bull and McLaren will be very competitive on tracks with fast corners, but Ferrari have also improved and they hope to be up to the challenge in Saudi Arabia.

Regarding Charles Leclerc, there is obvious and understandable disappointment for him. The Monegasque’s Ferrari had brake system problems from the outset, and this did not allow car number 16 to perform properly in one of his strengths, namely braking. Things slightly improved towards the end, when fiddling a bit with the steering wheel, he managed to make the SF-24 behave more in line with his needs despite the mechanical issue, indeed forcing George Russell to give up the fourth position.

The Monegasque admitted he felt a horrible sensation: with such a problem, as a driver you feel like you’re doing everything wrong, whatever it is. He locked up at least seven times in turn 10, and every time he touched the brake the car behaved differently. Charles Leclerc worked on the engine brake, also on the brake balance and they had completely messed up values compared to normal, but by doing so the Monegasque managed to reach the finish line.

The expectations were indeed different, also because the SF-24 has shown to be competitive in this Grand Prix. We’re not talking about victory, of course, but second place for the Monegasque seemed within reach, considering also Sergio Perez’s race, yes behind Max Verstappen, but more than twenty seconds ahead with Carlos Sainz on his tail. For this reason, Charles cannot be in any way satisfied with fourth place, and this wanting to show how at Ferrari, rightly, they are thinking bigger compared to the past months.

Charles Leclerc will have little time to dwell on this, as in a few days they will be back on track in Jeddah for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, in a completely different context, on a track that will reset the values in the field compared to what we have seen this weekend. Of course, as Red Bull will once again be the car to beat, Ferrari will have the opportunity to measure itself in a situation where pure speed and driving skills are the main protagonists.