Ferrari hopes to have 'understood and rectified' SF90 weakness

Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto says the Italian outfit heads to Bahrain determined to extract the full potential of its SF90 contender, having hopefully corrected the weakness seen in Melbourne.

The Scuderia's disappointing performance in the opening round of the 2019 season belied its pre-season form and superiority, with Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc outpaced in Australia by both Mercedes drivers and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Binotto is expecting Ferrari to put itself back on track next weekend in Bahrain.

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"The Sakhir circuit has very different characteristics to the Australian one, with traction and braking being key factors," said Binotto in the Scuderia's race weekend preview.

"In Bahrain, as a team, we will have to ensure that we have understood and rectified the areas where we were weak in Australia, which therefore meant we were unable to fully exploit our car's potential.

"In Bahrain, we expect to see the effect of the corrections we have made, although we are well aware that our competitors will once again be very strong.

"With that in mind, we are keen to get back on track and face up to them."

Vettel enjoys a good track record at Bahrain but the German driver insists the venue holds a few challenges.

"It is hard to find the right rhythm in the desert, mainly because of the sand that the wind blows onto the track," said the four-time world champion.

"Therefore every lap is different, which can be a decisive factor, especially in qualifying.

"If you move just a few inches off the ideal line, you start to slide and you can throw your lap in the bin, because you just can't make up the time you lose at this point.

"Therefore, the rate of mistakes is significantly higher than at other circuits."

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