Fred Vasseur Drops Bombshell About Ferrari’s True Pace: 'Whole Different Story'

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur anticipates an entirely different scenario at the season opener in Melbourne on March 16 compared to the performance seen during pre-season testing in Bahrain. He pointed out the varying weather conditions at Sakhir, which provided teams with different variables to explore. However, with the Australian Grand Prix expected to be warmer, Vasseur believes the higher temperatures could introduce an entirely new dynamic to performance.

The 2025 pre-season testing offered teams dry and windy conditions, apart from the spell of rain on Day 2 that paused the session for a while. However, given the relatively lower temperatures during the three days of testing, the chief suggests that it would be too early to predict where Ferrari stands in terms of performance compared to the other teams.

While Mercedes' W15 car last year showed significant performance fluctuations depending on temperature, performing best in cooler conditions, it remains uncertain whether teams and cars in the 2025 season will encounter similar challenges. Vasseur stressed that Bahrain also replicated conditions often experienced in Las Vegas, where Mercedes secured a 1-2 finish last year.

While Ferrari showed promising performance during the three-day testing period starting on February 26, with Charles Leclerc setting the ninth-fastest time in the morning session and Lewis Hamilton securing the sixth-fastest time on the final day, the Ferrari chief remains cautious about making predictions for the upcoming race at Albert Park due to the significant temperature shift. He said:

“It has been hard to get a clear read on the overall situation here in Bahrain, as the conditions were changing quite a lot day by day and from the morning to the afternoon, so it was more similar to Vegas than to the Bahrain we usually know.

“Over the past six months, we have worked very hard on this car and have made a good improvement, but we will have to wait until we are all on track in Melbourne to understand where we are.

“If we look at the hierarchy of previous years, what we saw here was not the same as in qualifying a week later, under the same conditions. We will go from 10-15 degrees on the track to the 45 we will have in Australia, so in Melbourne, it will probably be a whole different story."

Vasseur stated that Ferrari's goal this year is to secure both championships, noting the team's powerful driver lineup as a key advantage, which has fuelled an all-time high spirit within the team. He added:

“We want to fight for both championships, as we know we have two drivers who can do it, and the mood in the team is very positive. We will continue to work hard to be ready in two weeks’ time for the start of the season.”