After a two-week break following the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Scuderia Ferrari is ready is now ready for an intense three weeks, with three consecutive races starting with the French Grand Prix, which is scheduled to take place at the Paul Ricard Circuit this weekend and continuing with two events at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
The previous two races (in Monte Carlo and Baku) were favourable for the Maranello team, as Ferrari’s SF21 car is able to better perform on slow city circuits, which allowed the Italian side to score some valuable points in its very close battle against McLaren. With Mercedes and Red Bull at the top of their game, that only leaves room to fight for the third place on the Constructors’ Championship which is getting heated between Ferrari and McLaren. Norris is helping McLaren stay in the fight for the third position been the only driver to have scored points in every Grand Prix of 2021, according to SportsBettingDime.com . Scuderia Ferrari is occupying the fourth place right now with odds at +10000 behind McLaren in what promise to be a tremendous fight between both teams.
The battle between McLaren and Ferrari, the two most successful teams in the history of Formula 1, now moves at the Paul Ricard Circuit, where Ferrari will attempt to limit the damage taking into consideration that the French track is made up of medium and high-speed corner, which does not suit the SF21 car. On the other hand, the British side can rely on the Mercedes-powered engine to boost its performance on the straights and will look to strike back after after losing third place two weeks ago. The French Grand Prix will be the first of five European races in seven weeks, until Formula 1 enters the typical summer break in August.
Once again Charles Leclerc will lead Scuderia Ferrari’s charge this season, with the Monegasque driver taking two surprise pole positions on the streets of Monte Carlo and Baku, which unfortunately the Maranello team was not able to capitalize in the race the following day. This time a second row start would be an exceptional result for Ferrari ( in line with the team’s expectations going into the French Grand Prix weekend) as the Italian side hopes to successfully defend third place in the Constructors’ standings at the end of the event in Le Castellet. In this regard, Carlos Sainz’s contribution will also be very important, especially in the battle with McLaren’s second driver, Daniel Ricciardo; for the moment the Australian driver has not been able to fully exploit the potential of his MCL35M car, while Carlos Sainz quickly adapted to the SF21 and will look for another positive performance.
Saturday’s action at the Paul Ricard Circuit will start with the third free practice session: it will be Scuderia Ferrari’s final opportunity to identify the ideal set-up and balance for Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz’s SF21 car ahead of the qualifying session later in the afternoon.
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