Vasseur: Ferrari not far from Verstappen on tyre choice before Bahrain GP in Malaysia
Before the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia at Sepang, Fred Vasseur said Ferrari was not far from Max Verstappen specifically on tyre choice. He expected tyre wear, race pace and tyre management to matter more than a good starting position. [Source 1, Source 2]
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Before the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia at Sepang, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said his team was not far from Max Verstappen specifically on tyre choice. He described the grid as a stepping stone to Sunday, when the points would be awarded, and said tyre wear, race pace and tyre management would matter more than a good starting position. [Source 1, Source 2]
Vasseur acknowledged that Ferrari was still searching. He said the tyres were difficult to assess on Friday because relatively few laps had been completed, and described the track as very dirty the previous day. He also said teams had differing views of the compounds and that the choice was difficult.
The FIA’s qualifying report listed Verstappen first, Hamilton second, Hadjar third and Leclerc fifth; Hamilton was 0.298 seconds behind Verstappen. Hadjar was due to drop to eighth on the grid after a five-place penalty for an internal-combustion-engine change, with Antonelli inheriting third on the grid. Ferrari was due to start second and fourth on the grid.
Sources 02
- SOURCEFerrari ziet voordeel in jacht op indrukwekkende VerstappenRacingNews365 Nederland
- PRIMARY SOURCEF1 – Verstappen storms to first pole of 2026 at Sepang as Hamilton hands Ferrari front row startFIA news and transcripts
Claims and supporting evidence 6
The comparison is attributed to Vasseur and limited to tyre choice.
The report quotes Vasseur making this pre-race assessment.
These points are attributed to Vasseur in the RacingNews365 report.
The qualifying classification provides these positions and the gap.
The FIA report states the penalty, its reason and the resulting grid positions.
RacingNews365 reported Ferrari’s pre-race starting positions.
Corrections and updates to this story
Vasseur’s Ferrari tyre assessment as Sepang race unfolds
Updated the article with the reported restart pass and clearly identified the later lap-36 order as a snapshot from a race that was still underway. Vasseur’s tyre comparison remains attributed as a pre-race assessment.
Vasseur: Ferrari not far from Verstappen on tyre choice before Bahrain GP in Malaysia
Corrected to restore the article’s focus on Vasseur’s pre-race tyre assessment and remove later live-race snapshots.
This article was produced with AI assistance. Source references make its supporting evidence traceable.