Ferrari must play defense and limit the losses in the upcoming Dutch Grand Prix, which takes place this weekend at the 4.259-kilometre Circuit Zandvoort. The Maranello team is waiting for developments on the SF-24 car that should ensure a leap forward in performance, after the parts installed at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona caused the 2024 Formula 1 single-seater to regress. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have tried to patch things up in the last few races, with the Monegasque driver stepping up in Budapest and Spa with a couple of notable performances, considering the car’s limited potential.
The team principal of the historic Italian squad, Frederic Vasseur, is confident about what could happen in the next weekend at Zandvoort, considering the hard work done in Maranello in recent months to recover a situation that seemed truly compromised after what happened in Barcelona. Mistakes that Ferrari has paid dearly for, losing second place in the Constructors’ Championship right when Red Bull became much more vulnerable and therefore attackable.
The Milton Keynes team is going through a rather difficult period, and even Max Verstappen no longer arrives at the circuit with the certainty of winning on Sunday, as the RB20 has lost all its advantage over its rivals. Meanwhile, McLaren is now the car to beat, incredibly closely followed by Mercedes, which won three of the last four races before the summer break.
Among Ferrari drivers, there is a lot of caution: Charles Leclerc seems to be the more pessimistic one (or maybe realistic), even admitting that in the Netherlands, the Maranello team will have to play defense, hoping to lose as few points as possible to the competition. Statements that certainly won’t make the Ferrari fans happy, but the reality at the moment is this.
Charles Leclerc reflected that in Monte Carlo, they had the pace to achieve certain things, but that was no longer the case. He explained that after their win, they attempted some extreme setups in the following races, which turned out to be far from optimal. Before the summer break, they managed to maximize the results, but the car still lacked performance and wasn’t fast enough. He expressed hope that the upcoming updates would be sufficient to get them back in the fight for important positions.
The Monegasque driver also noted that McLaren had made impressive progress very quickly, which surprised him because, in today’s Formula 1, improvements usually take more time. He observed that even Mercedes had managed to improve significantly, while Ferrari was struggling more. However, he remained confident in their work and the updates they planned to install in the coming weeks, believing they could make a considerable step forward.
As for Carlos Sainz, the questions on Thursday in Zandvoort were mostly about his future, given that he announced his move to Williams right after the Belgian Grand Prix, marking the start of the summer break. However, the Spaniard is fully focused on the season with Ferrari, and having confirmed what his career will look like going forward certainly puts him in a more serene position for the coming months, his last dressed in red.
Carlos Sainz reflected on the past few months, describing them as very tough. He had to manage the situation while trying to perform at his best as a Ferrari driver in a high-pressure environment. Williams quickly made a strong impression on him, with a solid project and the ambition to return this historic team to the top, which required him to be fully convinced before making a decision.
The Spanish driver mentioned that they had understood what went wrong with the recent updates. He emphasized that it was a matter of time and the ability to gain those crucial tenths that would allow them to match McLaren’s speed, something they needed to achieve in the next ten races. He believed the gap depended on the circuit and stressed the importance of understanding the new updates, especially after the challenges they faced in recent months. He noted that both Mercedes and McLaren had overtaken them, while Red Bull remained competitive.
Ferrari is therefore in a limbo: awaiting developments expected from Monza onwards, they need to play defense. The drivers don’t want to make bold statements, as is right, but they still have confidence in the work done in Maranello, first in understanding what the problems were, and then in the new parts that will arrive. Ferrari fans hope that this will finally be the turning point for a season that started well but suddenly took a negative turn.
