Ferrari Aims High: F1 Championship Dreams Fueled by 'Positive' Test

Bahrain Pre-Season Testing: Ferrari's Optimism High Despite Variable Conditions

Although many have tipped McLaren as the class of the field heading into the first race of the 2025 F1 season, Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur remains optimistic about the SF-25 after preseason testing in Bahrain. Clearly, the three days weren't as smooth as everyone hoped, possibly due to the inconsistent weather conditions at the usually predictable venue.

Charles Leclerc went fastest during Friday’s morning session, while Lewis Hamilton, in his first official outing as a Ferrari driver, took over in the afternoon. Apart from the timesheets, Vasseur emphasized that the true pecking order won’t be clear until the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 16.

Vasseur: "Melbourne probably a whole different story"

After the final day of testing, Vasseur acknowledged the difficulties of drawing many conclusions from the Bahrain sessions due to the weather conditions. “It has been hard to get a clear read on the overall situation here in Bahrain,” he said according to comments published by Formula1.com.

“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.”

The Ferrari boss highlighted the significant progress made over the past six months in developing the SF-25, but he recognized that the real test will come in Melbourne.

“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 explained. “We will have to wait until we are all on track there to understand where we are.”

Despite the early end to Hamilton's session in Friday afternoon, Vasseur was optimistic, emphasizing the team’s ambition to compete for both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles.

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

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