For the third consecutive Grand Prix this season, Scuderia Ferrari has to deal with a race pace that does not allow Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to aim for victory. The reasons for this loss of performance are still unknown inside the Scuderia garage, as confirmed by Mattia Binotto.
Whether it is a step forward from the rivals, or a problem linked to the latest developments brought to the F1-75, the reality does not change, at the moment Ferrari is far from Red Bull, and if everything does not go smoothly, it also has a hard time keeping up with the Mercedes W13 cars, as was clear in the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.
This is no coincidence, because in the last four races, the Italian side has not only lost 79 points to Red Bull in the Constructors’ World Championship, but also 36 to Mercedes.
Something is not right, something which according to Mattia Binotto is masked in qualifying by the greater grip that he new soft tire is able to offer for just one lap, but which emerges more clearly in race pace. In the seventy-two laps covered at Zandvoort, Charles Leclerc initially managed to stay close to Max Verstappen, arriving at the first pit stop (lap 16) just four seconds behind the Dutchman.
Charles Leclerc’s pace did not improve, and in the following 26 laps the gap increased by another 6 ”6, a margin that allowed Max Verstappen to be able to run the second part of the race in peace.
The Monegasque driver could have still been involved in the fight for the race win in the Dutch Grand Prix, but the Virtual Safety Car, caused by Yuki Tsunoda’s stop, arrived two laps after Charles had already made his second stop, offering a perfect assist to the two Mercedes car, who were able to mount a set of fresh tires and return on track in front of the Ferrari driver. The decision taken in the final stage of the race by Lewis Hamilton’s garage, that is to leave the British driver on track with medium tires (something similar to what happened to Charles this year in the British Grand Prix), allowed the Monegasque driver to overtake Lewis Hamilton and take third place in the final stages of the Zandvoort race.
The Dutch Grand Prix was even worse for Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard was called to the pits (with very short notice) for his first pit stop, but when he arrived at the tire change pitch, the left rear tire was missing. An unexpected event that cost the Spanish driver ten seconds more and the consequent loss of four positions when he returned to the track.
For Carlos the problems were not over, because in the second pit stop (after the safety car was deployed following Valtteri Bottas’ power unit issue) when he left the pitch he had to slow down in order to avoid a McLaren mechanic, and when he entered the fast-lane he risked touching the incoming Alpine of Fernando Alonso.
The moment was considered as an unsafe release and cost a five-second penalty that relegated Carlos Sainz from fifth place under the checkered flag to an eighth final position – “I thought I had saved someone’s life and not triggered a dangerous situation” – the Spaniard pointed out.
These episodes would be crucial if Ferrari were in the running for a world championship title today (drivers or constructors) but not being so, it is understandable that the greatest alarm is on the performance front.
“I didn’t like how I felt the car – explained Carlos Sainz – it was very difficult to drive, I always struggled with the rear, I had a lot of overheating of the tires, so we need to find out the reasons that trigger these problems”.
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“Unfortunately, we weren’t fast enough – reiterated Charles Leclerc – the first stint on Soft tires was good and I was confident that we would continue at a similar pace. On the other hand, I struggled more with the Mediums, especially when compared to the pace that Mercedes confirmed with Hard tires. Our rivals seem to have improved their pace, especially in the race, and this is the aspect on which we need to focus more in view of the next rounds “.
After the Monza weekend, which obviously remained a race with significant importance for the Maranello team in front of the Tifosi, there will be a final part of the 2022 Formula 1 season that has reduced the potential of the F1-75 project. Once the dreams of winning the title have vanished, a different but still important goal remains for Ferrari: to at least prove the F1-75 car win a few races and prepare for the 2023 F1 championship.
A significant milestone, for morale but also to respond to Mercedes, which race after race has become more and more of a threat for Ferrari. Losing the second position in the Constructors’ championship would be a joke considering the values on the field with which the season started.
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