The official statements show a cautious optimism, but the body-language of the men in red occasionally points to some signal that testifies to something more, a rising confidence that lap after lap is finding important confirmations in the only place that matters: the track.
The impression is that at Ferrari they do not necessarily want to create expectations higher than what the team can really guarantee on track, but after an encouraging signal arrived in Bahrain, today at Imola the results were of an even higher profile.
We are not talking about a Ferrari capable of frightening Mercedes and Red Bull, because Formula 1 is not a land of miracles, but of a team that focuses decisively on that role of third force that was the goal set by Mattia Binotto at the beginning of 2021.
The effects of the work carried out in Maranello that emerged in Bahrain were the progress confirmed by the power unit, while the first practice sessions in Imola highlighted the ability of the SF21 to warm up the tires. One of the Achilles’ heels that for many seasons have taken away the sleep of the technicians who have alternated in Maranello, and which today seems to be (the conditional is still a must) no longer a problem but a very valuable bonus.
The flying lap and the race pace were good
The figures from Friday at Imola say that Charles Leclerc, who admitted that Imola is one of his favourite tracks, has the fastest lap of the day, even if not reported (rightly) in the standings, because the Monegasque went wide and crossed the limits at the Piratella corner.
Even taking into account a couple of tenths of gain, the time of 1’15 ”367 is still an absolute remarkable time, and the competition took it into consideration in the briefings at the end of the day.
However, great caution is needed in view of tomorrow’s qualifying, since the gps data that emerged today confirmed a very conservative Mercedes engine mode, confirming the fears (shared with the Red Bull box) on the reliability front.
The results confirmed by Ferrari in the race simulations were also very good, both with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, and both confirmed good feedback at the end of FP2.
A result would realistically be finishing immediately behind the “magnificent 3” if Sergio Perez still has a gap in qualifying against Verstappen, or in any case a third row that seems definitely within reach. Charles Leclerc, especially on the fastest lap, seems to have a different pace than Carlos Sainz, but the Spaniard is continuing his progress with optimism.
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