The Monaco, who started third on the grid in Bahrain and was second fastest in Saudi Arabia, beat Red Bull to the top for the first time this season before repeating it in Saturday morning’s first-ever qualifying sprint. feat, he also claimed pole.

The result comes after a difficult weekend for Ferrari in Australia and news of the imminent departure of sporting director Laurent Mekis, one of Maranello’s key players.

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The set-up philosophy change showed promising signs in Melbourne, despite the team’s poor performance in qualifying and its weekend unraveling.

In Baku, things finally came together while rival Red Bull faltered.

“I’m very happy for everyone in the team because they’ve worked so hard over the past month,” Vasseur told Autosport.

“And I think we’ve made some good decisions in terms of development and setup, even under pressure, and it’s paying off.

“I think Melbourne is also good, but we didn’t manage to put everything together and Charles did a fantastic job.

“It’s not an achievement because qualifying isn’t an achievement, but it’s a milestone for the season. Pole is always good for confidence.”

Vasseur admits the team is relieved that the car has maintained the performance hinted at in Australia.

“You can never come to a conclusion on one thing,” he said. “Melbourne is cold and it’s not a permanent track.

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-23

Photography: Andrew Ferraro / motorsport pictures

“We’ve made a step between Jeddah and Melbourne, and that’s clear to us, and it’s clear to the drivers.

“But we still had doubts because we didn’t put everything together. But this weekend we were on pace from the first lap.

“Well, it’s not the end of the weekend, we didn’t score, but it’s a good milestone for the team.”

Ferrari also benefited from taking full advantage of a single FP1 session, shortened by the red flag period.

Unlike some of its competitors, the team chose not to bring significant update packages, other than the low-drag Baku wing, to ensure no time was wasted trying to optimize new parts.

“I think on these types of formats, if you start with balance issues, it’s very difficult to react,” Vasseur said. “Because you’re going to carry this problem around, long term, short term, and then you’re going to be completely blind over the weekend.

“We started in good shape, whether it was hard or soft, we were there every lap. It also gave the driver confidence.”