Vasseur: After absence, Shanghai Sprint weekend very challenging

Wednesday, 17 April 2024 at 12:45

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As Formula 1 heads to Round 5 of the 2024 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, Ferrari are the most likely to take the fight to the dominant Red Bulls as the sport returns to Shanghai for the first time since 2019, but the Italian team's boss Fred Vasseur is wary.

The venue where the Scuderia last won back in 2013 with Fernando Alonso victorious that day. They will hoping to do the same 11 years later with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz leading the charge. This time around they will have the additional challenge of the year's first Sprint Race weekend format.

The pecking order ahead of China, is Red Bull way ahead, Ferrari in their mirrors, then the rest chasing. Hence Fred Vasseur's team will be looking to upset the Red Bull freight train, as Sainz did for Ferrari in Australia.

In the Scuderia's preview of the GP weekend ahead, Vasseur said: "We return to Shanghai after a break of several years and that will undoubtedly make for a very challenging weekend for everyone. We will have to deal with a combination of several factors as it’s the first time the current generation of cars will race at this circuit

"We will only have one free practice session before battling for grid positions for the Sprint. Another major question mark is linked to the condition of the track surface, which could have become bumpier since when we were last there," reckoned the Ferrari F1 boss.

With Carlos and Charles we aim to get all the potential out of the car

Vasseur: After absence, Shanghai Sprint weekend very challenging During their time as teammates at Ferrari, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc won the same number of races (3) with Charles Leclerc getting 1 more podium (19) than Carlos Sainz (18) in

Vasseur continued: "As always with this [Sprint] weekend format, preparation back in the factory plays a vital role and in our case that will also involve improving the way we manage to preparation lap in qualifying, an area where we have been less than perfect recently.

"With Carlos and Charles, we aim to get all the potential out of the car and to bring home a solid result, as well as putting our competitors under pressure," declared the Ferrari boss.

Top of those competitors are of course the reigning F1 World Champions, Red Bull, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. The RB20 is proving to be another mighty Adrian Newey & Co, creation.

Verstappen has three wins to his name and with Perez, they have three one-twos so far this year. On current form, stopping the RBR juggernaut will be a giant task for Ferrari and the rest.

The team explained the challenges of the unknowns that lie ahead at the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend: "The last time Formula 1 raced in Shanghai was several seasons ago (2019) prior to the current generation of ground-effect cars, so teams have no recent data to work with.

"It means that work back in the factory and in the simulator takes on even more importance than usual when preparing for this event. Charles and Carlos have worked hard with the team over the past few weeks and now it’s time to put their homework to the test," concluded the Ferrari preview of the China weekend.