Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur has admitted the Qatar Grand Prix will prove to be a decisive race in determining the team’s Formula 1 championship prospects in 2024.
The Italian marque taking successive victories in the United States and Brazil has bolstered optimism that it can bring an end to a barren title run dating back to 2008.
Ferrari’s recent substantial points hauls have seen it usurp Red Bull to become McLaren’s nearest challenger, with 29 points separating the two with four rounds to go.
But while the Ferrari drivers are targeting top spot, Carlos Sainz, who won in Mexico last time out, has warned that Qatar is a venue where it might be on the back foot, which no doubt will encourage avid betting fans, but betting on motorsport today is not only confined to sports books but fans can also play the latest racing slot machines.
The Lusail International Circuit, the host to the penultimate round, is packed with the sweeping high-speed corners that have been Ferrari’s weakness in this rule cycle.
However, Vasseur has pinpointed that Sainz’s run to pole position in Mexico amid its one-lap pace deficit this season has proven that Ferrari can still spring a surprise.
“It’s true that the characteristic of the track that probably that in the pace of Qatar is not the best one, but we are not supposed to do the pole position yesterday,” Vasseur told media including Motorsport Week.
“It means that everything is open and I would say that the most important would be to do a good job in Qatar.
“We will be able to fight for P1, P3 or P5, but we have to do our best to maximise the weekends.”
Ferrari denies high-speed weakness claim
Meanwhile, Ferrari Senior Performance Engineer Jock Clear has dismissed the claim that Ferrari’s SF-24 car continues to harbour an intrinsic weakness in high speed.
Instead, Clear has highlighted that the team’s apparent shortcoming in that area derives from a conscious design choice to maximise its slow-speed competitiveness.
With Qatar containing minimal low-speed sections, Clear has indicated that Ferrari should be in the hunt at the sharp end with a car tailored towards high-speed turns.
“Well, the fast corners aren’t a problem, per se,” Clear told media including Motorsport Week. “Every circuit is a compromise.
“We could go much faster around the fast corners if we wanted to, but we would then be compromising the slow speed.
“I think, you know, we make comments in Austin about we’re still losing a bit to the other cars in the high speed, but we’re gaining huge amounts in the low speed.
“I think the compromise we took in Austin speaks for itself, if you see what I mean.
“I think that’s the encouraging thing about the way an F1 team works, the way, particularly at the trackside, applies the performance that the factory’s delivered for you.
“You’ve got to make those choices. You know, where do we want to be fast? What are the most important aspects of this circuit? And we got it absolutely right in Austin.
“There’s some times we don’t get it absolutely right. But I don’t think the car is, I don’t think it’s fair to say this car is weak in high speed.
“I think if we had a circuit that had seven high-speed corners and no low-speed corners, we would set it up, and I think we’d still be in the hunt.
“I mean, you’d have to say that Red Bull are probably still the benchmark in high-speed corners, but they’re clearly losing out quite a lot now in the low speed.
“So as a compromise and as a complete package, I think we’re comfortable where we are at the moment.”
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