Vasseur: Fast turns are not the SF-24’s strong point

Just a few days after the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Ferrari and the rest of the Formula 1 teams reached Qatar, which required them to fly from the western United States to the coast of the Persian Gulf, a distance of 13,000 km.

The penultimate round of the season will be staged at the Losail Circuit in Qatar, which boasts one of the most modern paddocks in the world, having been completely rebuilt for last year’s race. However, the circuit itself was not affected by any changes;

Just 17 years later, the circuit, originally designed for motorcycle racing, hosted the first Formula 1 race. But if the bends can be overcome one after the other along different routes on two wheels, then this is hardly possible with modern F1 cars. .

On this circuit there are quite high speeds and little strong braking, which is not conducive to overtaking – there are only two points where such maneuvers are possible.

Frederik VasseurFerrari team boss: “From Las Vegas, surrounded by a cold desert, after closing the gap with McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship to 24 points, we set off for the second race of the final series of three stages in a row, to be held in Losail, where it is much warmer.

But it’s not just a matter of climate change; the circuit itself is also completely different here. If the city ring consisted of 90 degree turns and long straights, now we have to race on a circuit with many fast corners, which theoretically is not the SF-24’s strong point.

This year’s Qatar Grand Prix also includes the final sprint. As always, this means that the preparation phase that takes place at the team bases is more important than normal, because we only have one training session at our disposal.

You can earn 59 points this weekend, but it’s not time to do the calculations yet. For now we have to try to do everything perfectly and make sure that Charles and Carlos can get the most out of the car that the SF-24 is capable of.

Formula 1 now operates at a very high level, as we have seen in recent races: even small nuances influence the result, and the balance of power can change considerably.

“It’s time for the final push, with the last two weekends of the season ahead, our drivers, engineers and in general all the team members working on the track and at the base in Maranello are ready to give everything to achieve this goal. the best possible results.”