Ferrari left the Netherlands with an unexpected result. Charles Leclerc’s podium and Carlos Sainz’s fifth-place comeback delivered an outcome very different from the initial expectations.
Zandvoort was supposed to be one of the most challenging tracks for the SF-24, perhaps the worst. However, in the race, the Ferrari SF-24 cars performed very well due to several factors, including excellent tire management, a good setup, a great pit strategy, and the almost perfect work of the drivers.
This is where the result that left the Scuderia Ferrari team somewhat satisfied came from. But there’s no time to relax, as the home race, the Italian Grand Prix at the Monza International Circuit, is just a few days away.
And Ferrari arrives in front of its fans as an ambitious team. The upcoming updates and the nature of the track seem to be two perfect factors to highlight the Maranello cars. The same applies to Baku and Singapore. In short, Ferrari has three crucial cards to play in defining its 2024 Formula One campaign.
“I hope that in the next two or three events, we will be in better shape, more competitive,” admitted Ferrari’s team principal, Frédéric Vasseur, at the end of the Dutch Grand Prix held last weekend.
For some time now, Ferrari has struggled in long corners. In fact, at Zandvoort, it encountered more than a few difficulties, especially in qualifying. Monza, Baku, and Singapore should be more suited to the cars entrusted to Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
“Last year, we were much stronger on tracks like Monza and Singapore. I believe that even in this case, due to some details, the fact that we are strong in short corners will help us.” – the French manager pointed out.
Ferrari will debut a package of updates in front of its home crowd. This should be a further step towards regaining the competitiveness that was lost in the early part of the summer and that, at least partially, was seen again at Zandvoort, but only on Sunday.
“If we can make a step forward by one or two tenths, the situation could change for the better. But we also know that everyone is improving.”
Fred Vasseur, however, prefers to stay grounded. The nearly 25-second gap to Norris at the Zandvoort circuit is a clear indication of how much Ferrari still needs to work to try to close the gap to the current benchmark in Formula 1 and get back to competing for victories: “We know that today we have a big gap to Lando, and at Zandvoort, we were quite far behind. This means we have a lot of work to do. I will never go to Monza, Baku, or other supposedly favorable tracks with the feeling that it will be easy for us,” the Scuderia’s team principal concluded following the Dutch Grand Prix.
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