F1: a change of mentality is the secret to Ferrari’s 2021 improvement. 2021 is no longer seen as a year of transition.

The good news for Scuderia Ferrari after the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola is not the confirmation of the competitiveness of the SF21, but Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz disappointment for not being able to get on the podium.

The Ferrari we saw in the first two rounds of the 2021 Formula 1 season has managed to prove wrong many people who throughout the winter had predicted another tough season. Instead, excellent signals had already arrived in Bahrain, even if with ups and downs between qualifying and the race, but now at Imola the Italian side has made a step forward.

Yet it is not this weekend’s performance that suggests we are facing yet another rebirth in the history of the Scuderia from Maranello .. The statements by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz at the end of the race, convinced that in Imola it was possible to get on the podium.

Interviews that show how music has changed in Maranello. If until a few months ago, fans were asked for patience to wait until 2022 to see a Ferrari a main competitor, now 2021 is no longer seen as a year of transition.

This can also be seen from the updates brought to Imola. In particular, the new floor gave Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz an excellent pace both in the wet, the weak point of Ferrari in past seasons, and in the dry, even if the SF21 did not have the ideal set-up for these conditions.

A step forward which is very important ahead of the 2022 Formula 1 season. If one year ago one of the reasons for the difficulties of the SF1000 was that the track had given different responses than the simulator, with the SF21 there has been a correlation between the wind tunnel and the track results since the tests.

Precisely for this reason, fighting for third place in the constructors’ classification is a more concrete goal than a month ago. Scuderia Ferrari at Imola was the third fastest car, and without the red flag Lando Norris most likely would not have been able to finish in front of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, who in Portimao will try to take that podium that escaped last Sunday in Italy.