Scuderia Ferrari gained four points on Mercedes in the battle for second place in the Constructors’ World Championship, which is the most positive result emerging from Suzuka, where Ferrari didn’t have the pace of Red Bull and McLaren but managed the available potential. Carlos Sainz aimed to extend his stint in hopes of challenging Lewis Hamilton towards the end: “It’s a shame, today the race for me was a couple of laps too short.”
At the end of the Japanese Grand Prix, the glass is half full for the Ferrari team with the four points earned on Mercedes in the Constructors’ standings. The Suzuka weekend concluded without trophies or champagne, but the team and drivers are aware that they did everything they could with the SF-23 on a circuit like Suzuka.
The won challenge, as much as possible, was finishing a race that was feared (by everyone) due to tire degradation, a season-long nightmare for the Scuderia. A week after the victory in Singapore, a fourth and a sixth place is not a reason for celebration, but realistically achieving more was impossible, as McLaren’s strengths on fast, curved circuits were well-known, as were Ferrari’s difficulties.
In the end, the only regret, the position lost by Carlos Sainz to Lewis Hamilton, paradoxically resulted from a more conservative strategy choice than necessary. Before the second and final pit stop, Carlos Sainz, who was in fifth place and had a good start that allowed him to stay close to Leclerc, managed the presence of Lewis Hamilton behind him without major issues. However, when Mercedes pitted (lap 34), Carlos chose not to cover the undercut attempt, staying on the track for four more laps.
Lewis Hamilton obviously overtook Carlos Sainz, who hoped to have an advantage in tire condition in the final laps, but it wasn’t enough for Carlos to regain the position. “I tried to extend my stint to have better tires at the end,” Carlos Sainz explained, “and I pushed to the maximum to close the gap with Mercedes. Unfortunately, today the race for me was a couple of laps too short.”
After the race, Frederic Vasseur defended his driver’s choice. “We tried something different to differentiate our strategy from the competitors,” he explained, “the goal was to have better performance in the final laps. Compared to the beginning of the season, tire management was undoubtedly better; I believe we maximized our efforts today by gaining another four points on Mercedes. On a circuit where we knew it would be difficult for our car, we always had the situation under control. The standings with Mercedes and McLaren are very close, and it can change from one track to another, as we saw in Singapore. Obviously, a fourth and sixth place cannot make us happy, but the ground gained in Suzuka on our direct rivals will help us maintain maximum concentration and prepare to give our best in the upcoming races.”
There is, of course, no room for big smiles, but even Charles Leclerc (like Fred Vasseur) has reasons to face the long flight back to Europe from Japan without any regrets. “I can’t say I’m too happy with a fourth place,” Charles commented, “but I believe today we brought home the maximum possible since McLaren was very strong, and we didn’t have a pace sufficient to compete on equal terms with them.”
Charles Leclerc remained ahead of Carlos Sainz, showing a clear confidence in the overtaking of Russell, who was the only one among the ‘big’ to opt for a one-stop strategy. “It was a fun battle,” Charles admitted, “he managed the tires well, and overtaking him wasn’t easy. I arrived at turn 1 and took advantage of a gap on the outside to complete the move.”
The positive aspect highlighted by both drivers is the understanding of the car, that is, the ability to extract the maximum from the vehicle. The project’s limitations remain, but this has been known for a long time. However, the competition with Mercedes is wide open, with six races to go, and Ferrari can realistically aim for the second position in the Constructors’ standings, which, while a secondary achievement, would have been seen as a mirage after the early-season races.
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