The folks back at Ferrari can only hope that what happened back in Bahrain two weeks ago was just an anomaly. Because, if not, then there is some very serious cause for concern for the Scuderia and their fans. Both their cars were miles off of Red Bull and Max Verstappen‘s pace. Even the new Aston Martins looked better at tackling the rigors of the tarmac than the Ferraris. Particularly, Verstappen was consistently almost a second a lap quicker than the Ferrari duo. Arguably, it was a nightmare for the new man in charge, Frederic Vasseur.

What makes matters worse for the French-born team principal is the fact that reports suggest there may already be a hierarchal rift within the Ferrari camp. Currently, whatever we know about the situation inside the team can only be termed speculation. And speculation about a team’s harmony and balance is never a good thing. Ferrari knows this best given the whole Mattia Binotto ousting fiasco from last season. Hence, in a probable attempt to stop the noise, Vasseur has come out with his inside scoop on the whole affair.

While speaking to Auto Hebdo, Vasseur was quizzed whether he was being held back at Ferrari. He retorted, “I have resources and decision-making power that I have never had elsewhere. This is the reality of the situation!” [translated via Google Translate]

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Vasseur’s side of the story doesn’t quite add up in light of his star driver Charles Leclerc going over his head and reaching out to Ferrari supremo John Elkann directly just 3 days ago. And even though things seem to be falling apart back at Maranello, Vasseur remains adamant about Ferrari’s fate.

Bahrain wasn’t a disaster for Ferrari claims Vasseur

Ferrari really struggled for pace and reliability at the Sakhir International Circuit in Bahrain. However, according to Vasseur, the whole pace deficit was down to a set-up error rather than an out-and-out lack of competitiveness as compared to Red Bull.

“I never saw a car that was able to match the pace of another one in qualy and not be able to in the race. Then, it is a matter of set-up and some choices on the car. But this is not a matter of concept at all. I don’t think that we have to go in this direction,” explained Vasseur to PlanetF1.com.

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Can Ferrari turn their fates around from Bahrain? Or is the Scuderia in for another miserable season?