Ferrari: sensational Le Mans victory shouldn't overshadow Formula 1 problems

Before Sunday, the last time Enzo Ferrari won the 24 Hours of Le Mans he was 67 years old. That was 58 years ago. The funny thing is that the red team returned to the WEC primarily thanks to the budget cap introduced by Formula 1, the teams, and the FIA in the latest Concorde Agreement.

In recent years, they had drawn from the “road” categories to add internal resources and knowledge to the Formula 1 departments, but in this case, they did the opposite, moving many quality technicians to the 499P project. The results of this comeback clearly show its success, and Le Mans has certified its significance. They also show that the regulations of endurance racing, with their unlimited track testing, are more compatible with Ferrari’s racing DNA.

Sunday delivered a glorious day to history. Huge respect goes to the professionalism of those who led this project, from Antonello Coletta downwards, with pit crews that were nearly flawless. These individuals had the desire and conviction to amaze, with great humility, without which a new great chapter of Ferrari would not have been written, something that not only the fans but also Motorsport desperately need.

“Endurance or Formula 1, Ferrari is one,” Antonello Coletta always repeated. And Ferrari won. It may be, at least we hope so, that those great names working away from Maranello can be inspired. Nevertheless, it should not be forgotten that Formula 1 and WEC are worlds apart, not only technically but especially in terms of political balance. The mistake to avoid would be to live off yesterday’s success, that is, to use the World Endurance Championship to cover up the problems in Formula 1. We must be aware that Fred Vasseur’s task is much more challenging in the short term, although he has gained more autonomy from Benedetto Vigna for now, as reported by F1 expert Giuliano Duchessa for formu1a.uno.

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Ferrari: Montreal brings us back to reality
Winter and spring were far from perfect, but the departments are working in harmony. We are not in 2014. Clarity and reinforcements are needed, but despite hearing that engineers will arrive, it is challenging to engage top-tier figures. We can expect to learn more in Austria. Laurent Mekies will complete his tasks as Sporting Director with the Montreal Grand Prix in Canada, after which he will disembark at Red Bull with an already defined plan.

Regarding the technical office, a transitional phase is evident. Since Mattia Binotto also acted as Technical Director, being kept in every ‘issue’ email, there now seems to be a lack of strong leadership. All in all, it is somewhat predictable. The best thing to do is to stay calm, although the Scuderia seems to be facing a dual challenge, both technical and sporting, which now has the flavor of a rebuilding phase. There is an awareness that the SF-23 has disappointed many objectives, but at the same time, there hasn’t been a failure of a single department.

The engineers have started to change the face of the SF-23 in Spain, which is why the dramatic inconsistency seen particularly in Jeddah, Miami, and Barcelona does not allow for short-term predictions. However, according to the collected data, at least from Canada, it should be possible to see real progress. Stop & go layouts like Montreal and Spielberg do not have long corners and require rear-limited setups, factors that should help in managing the SF-23 weaknesses, leading to a more uncertain battle against Mercedes and Aston Martin.