Ferrari knows that at Suzuka, they will face a resurgent Red Bull, but after the summer break, Maranello has made significant progress. Confidence is now much higher.
As the historically dominant team in Formula 1, Ferrari also has the task of ending winning streaks. It happened in 1988 at Monza when Gerhard Berger broke McLaren’s dominance, and it happened last Sunday in Singapore when they put an end to Red Bull’s fourteen consecutive wins. The victory at the Singapore Grand Prix brought Ferrari back to the winner’s circle after a drought of 26 races, but Formula 1 moves quickly. In the Marina Bay paddock, there isn’t a single bolt left from the teams that raced yesterday; the technical equipment has already arrived in Japan, and engineers and drivers are focused on the challenges presented by the Suzuka circuit.
The celebrations in Singapore will raise high expectations for the Grand Prix next weekend, but the answer to the question “What can Ferrari aim for?” is not straightforward or guaranteed. Carlos Sainz, always very realistic, analyzed what played in favor of the Scuderia in Singapore. “We adapted well to the high-downforce configuration,” he explained. “The ninety-degree corners, quick changes of direction, and straights are exactly what our car likes. But there will be other tracks where we will struggle only for fifth and sixth places.”
Marina Bay doesn’t have fast corners, there’s no annoyance from the wind (a critical factor for the SF-23), and being in the lead guarantees control over the race. Even in Monza, Sainz took the lead, but the track configuration didn’t allow Carlos to set his pace as he did in Marina Bay, and the need to push led to tire overheating and gave in to the Red Bulls. Suzuka will return to a circuit where the starting position is a bonus but certainly not enough to guarantee victory, and Fred Vasseur has maintained a low profile in anticipation of the Japanese weekend.
“We won’t change our approach after Monza and Singapore,” emphasized the Scuderia’s team principal. “I don’t know what happened to Red Bull last weekend, and if we look at the teams we’ve been fighting against, namely Mercedes and McLaren, not much has changed compared to previous races; we’re still talking about margins of half a second in qualifying. Next weekend, we’ll have to start from scratch as we did in other weekends; it won’t be a good weekend that makes us feel like champions.”
However, there is a feeling that something at Ferrari has changed after the summer break. The controversial weekend in Zandvoort, where despite the on-track results, Scuderia’s drivers expressed satisfaction with the work done, was probably an important step in the growth process. “There’s nothing magical in this sport,” Fred Vasseur added. “You don’t suddenly find half a second; you take many small steps forward. The team reacted very well after difficult weekends, and it’s something I’ve appreciated and still appreciate. Yes, in Zandvoort, we probably unlocked something in terms of understanding the setup, a step that allowed us to achieve the performance seen in Monza and Singapore.”
The goals that Ferrari can aim for (along with Mercedes, McLaren, and Aston Martin) will also depend on Red Bull’s form. On this front, the paddock’s verdict is almost unanimous, with everyone on the record convinced that the Suzuka weekend will see the usual Red Bull from 2023, capable of dominating. However, off the record, some harbor doubts, concluding with a “let’s see,” to which only the track can respond, starting from Friday.
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