Fred Vasseur (Ferrari): “Verstappen is flying, but that’s not the point”

A good starting position for Ferrari superstar Lewis Hamilton ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia: second on the grid, with only Max Verstappen faster.

For Hamilton, this is his best qualifying result of 2026 (he was also second in Barcelona), but Ferrari have gone five Grand Prix weekends without a podium finish. Will they finally get one in Malaysia?

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur after the thrilling final practice session: “That was undoubtedly a good qualifying session. Max has been flying since the start of the weekend, which is why it was difficult for us to get right to the front. But that’s not the point. Overall, though, we put in some good laps.”

“Charles was perhaps a bit defensive, particularly on his second attempt and after the mistake on the previous lap at Turn 5.”

“Tyre wear will play an enormous role in the Grand Prix, so how the race unfolds will be more decisive than our position in qualifying. But I still prefer to start from the front rows. We all know that tyre wear will be high. After the free practice sessions, it’s quite difficult to interpret the tyres’ behaviour over a long run correctly, because we didn’t have time to try everything out.”

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Fans could hardly believe their eyes at what they witnessed at the Bahrain Grand Prix: cars crawling along, racing cars that simply came to a standstill. The FIA narrowly avoided a fiasco like the one at Indy in 2005.

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Following the furore over his position and the backing he received from the top, Vasseur adds: “I think we should finally put an end to all these rumours and the gossip. We work as a team through both the good times and the bad. We simply have to stop fuelling this culture of rumour-mongering.”