Vasseur: Bahrain key to proving Ferrari's ‘right direction’ for 2024

Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur has laid out what the Italian outfit will be looking for in Bahrain when the 2024 F1 championship kicks off in two weeks.

While acknowledging the importance of results, Vasseur says that Ferrari’s primary focus will be on ensuring the team is firmly going in the "right direction" and hasn't regressed since their late-season improvements in 2023.

The Scuderia unveiled its 2024 challenger earlier this week, a new design that has been deemed a step forward by Charles Leclerc who sampled the team’s SF-24 at Fiorano after the car’s launch on Tuesday.

Ferrari’s engineering team – led by chassis boss Enrico Cardile – aimed to conceive a well-rounded package and especially one that will be easier to drive.

And so far, all signs point to a successful effort in this regard, although only the test of the track will provide the team with a clear verdict.

“We were able to be quick in the last part of the season but the drivability of the car was an issue,” Vasseur explained. “From the beginning of the 2024 project we were focused on this.

“Our feeling, and I think you spoke before with the drivers, is that we did a decent step forward in terms of drivability, but only Bahrain will let us know if it is enough or not.

“At least on the simulator so far we fixed the biggest part of the issue.”

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Ferrari’s SF-24 is the first machine designed and developed under Vasseur’s tenure, the Frenchman joining the Scuderia at the start of 2023.

But Vasseur made it a point of highlighting the role played in the car’s conception by every single member of the House of Maranello

“I think that the most important is to understand the car is the product of 1,000 people or a bit more,” Vasseur explained.

“It’s not the project of a single individual, it doesn’t matter who is the individual.

“I’m convinced that every single employee of Ferrari is a performance contributor.

“I’m trying to send this message each day. It’s not the product or Fred Vasseur or Enrico Cardile or anyone, the project is the project of the group.”

The true potential of Ferrari's "project" remains an open question until the SF-24 hits the track in Bahrain, the site of both pre-season testing and the first race.

While solid points are always desirable, Vasseur says that Ferrari’s key objective next week is to establish tangible proof of continued progress.

He wants to see his team build upon the late-season momentum that brought them victory in Singapore with Sainz and pole positions with Leclerc, paving the way for a potential championship challenge.

“Results is one thing, you never know, you can have a good pace and have a good shape and not score good points for different incidents,” Vasseur acknowledged.

“For me the most important thing in Bahrain is to be convinced that we are going in the right direction, that we didn’t lose something after the season last year.

“Last year in Abu Dhabi we were able to fight for the pole position and we had a decent pace in the race, and we improved a lot in terms of operations, the capacity to take risks, the communication into the approach during the weekend and it’s quite important for me to stay in the path.

“Now results will come with everything, but the most important is to go in the right direction.”

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