'Charles Leclerc with the best response for those who began to doubt his Ferrari commitment'

Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc came really close to victory at the 2021 British Grand Prix. Behind the controversy linked to the crash between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, the Ferrari driver was actually the man of the day, able to control the race until the final laps and make it thrilling. He tried to hold on, and in the end he couldn’t completely capitalize on the fight between the two contenders for the world title. But you couldn’t really ask for more from the Monegasque. Throughout the weekend he has continued to pull rabbits out of the hat, and the impression is that this driver really wants to split the world in half, by winning and convincing. His attitude is the right one, and it is hoped that this desire to reach the top will convince the Maranello team to further intensify work on the 2022 Formula 1 car.

“It’s not often that you push an F1 car. Many did it yesterday, from sofas, deck chairs, at home, in bars, caught up in the dream of another Italian victory in an English sports temple. Silverstone like Wembley. Ferrari red like Chiellini’s blue. Not at all. The dream was destroyed Hamilton two laps from the finish, taken by an almost animal-like enthusiasm. Leclerc, beaten after an equally memorable race, capable of driving a lively car at an amazing pace, excellent with medium tires, much less with hard tires, unlike the Mercedes. […] Charles, the most impatient, is training to perform miracles. All, not surprisingly, in the weekend that Formula 1 launched the formats and cars of the future” – writes Giorgio Terruzzi in Corriere della Sera.

“Too bad for those extra 10 kilometers. Otherwise, dramatically surprisingly, Silverstone would have morphed into a tarmac version of Wembley, just a week away. Really, it was close. Ferrari came one step away from an astonishing success, which only vanished at the last minute. Unquestionably the merit of Leclerc, who, as soon as the opportunity presents itself, fully demonstrates his enormous talent. But the car was also brilliant and competitive. Perhaps I will be forced to review my critical judgment on Mattia Binotto, the unsafe head of the Maranello racing department. Let’s put it this way: he will not be a leader like Roberto Mancini, but neither is he the double of his Crozza imitator. Leclerc gave the best response to those who, in a not entirely innocent way, began to doubt the Monegasque boy’s attachment to the Maranello cause”, says Leo Turrini on the Resto del Carlino.

“England-Italy ends up on penalties even on the track and it’s a great result for Ferrari, who dreamed of imitating the Italian football team up to three laps from the end. If the “Silverstonazo” did not materialize it is only because Lewis Hamilton did not imitate Bukayo Saka, putting the decisive penalty, pardòn the decisive overtaking, right at the Copse, the scene of the clash with rival Verstappen. A Donnarumma-like move would have been the masterpiece of Charles Leclerc, in the lead for 49 laps thanks to some good circumstances – “if something doesn’t happen the others are faster”, admits Mattia Binotto – but above all to a rediscovered Ferrari after the «disaster» of Le Castellet “, La Stampa wrote.

“It is hoped that this sudden awakening will not be ephemeral, that in Budapest, where the characteristics of the circuit be more favourable for the strengths of the SF21, things will be even better. Meanwhile, the events at Silverstone allowed Leclerc after almost a year to regain the taste of the podium, after the two podium finishes from last year. Yesterday Ferrari, with that “Grazie Azzurrie” written on the car, tried to exploit the Mancini wake. In Budapest Ferrari will do it with even more conviction.” – La Repubblica concluded.