Ferrari worried about season: "Still a long way to go"

The Bahrain Grand Prix showed that Ferrari is still far away from the race victories it has achieved in the past. While Charles Leclerc finished in sixth place, Carlos Sainz reached eighth position. Team boss Mattia Binotto sees that Ferrari still has a long way to go.

The well-known Formula One team struck out on a new path this season by letting Sebastian Vettel leave for Aston Martin after six seasons. The German failed to drive in the points at his first race in 2021, but Leclerc and his replacement Sainz did so comfortably. That offers hope for the future, although a lot will have to change at Ferrari.

"I think if we look at the race in Bahrain and the feedback from the drivers...", Binotto told Motorsport. "They are starting to get to know the car, they are starting to understand what the limits of the car are and in the end we might be able to adjust or improve something. The next three to four races will show what the real performance and capabilities of our car are compared to the others."

Competition from Mercedes and Red Bull Racing

The hard truth is that Ferrari are still a long way from being able to compete with Mercedes and Red Bull Racing. Although Max Verstappen frequently had to put up with Ferrari's cars in his first few seasons, that has changed some time now. "The gap to the competitors is still very big. We still have a long way to go, but it will also depend on the circuit."