In some ways, that’s what they have been saying since the Bahrain testing sessions ahead of the 2021 Formula 1 season. In other words, a competitive Ferrari on a flying lap (qualifying), when the SF21 is able to quickly warm up the tires, but which is then lost in the race pace. Since the long runs of Sakhir, a few days before the official start of the 2021 World Championship, Ferrari seemed to have something less than McLaren and rather had to fight with AlphaTauri and Aston Martin. The impressions in the official testing sessions were unfortunately immediately confirmed.
| Ferrari | McLaren | |
| Best result in qualifying | P1 | P5 |
| Average position (best car) | 3.4 | 6.4 |
| Head to head qualifying (best car) | 7 | 0 |
| Best result in the race | P2 | P3 |
| Average race position (best car) | 5.3 | 4.4 |
| Head-to-Head Race (Best Car) | 3 | 4 |
| Points | 94 | 110 |
Lando Norris believes that Ferrari is underestimated, and that they have a very good car: “In Monte Carlo and Baku they were extremely fast. I think a lot of people underestimate them for some reason, and still think they have a terrible car. But that’s not the case, Ferrari have made a lot of improvements since last season, they have one of the best cars in certain types of corners and they are extremely fast”.
As also underlined by a long article in The-Race, the underestimation Lando Norris talks about is also due to Paul Ricard, a complete circuit, with straights and corners, in which traction is a more marginal component compared to Monte Carlo and Baku. And in France, despite a good qualifying (with Carlos Sainz best “of the rest”), Ferrari ended up outside the points-zone, in total crisis with the tires. The table above shows how Ferrari has an average qualifying position of 3.4 (with the best car), which is the opening of the second row. A position somehow “masked” also by Charles Leclerc’s pole positions in Monte Carlo and Baku, but in any case clearly better than that of McLaren, which is three points behind, the closing of the third row (6.4). In the race, however, the best Ferrari drops by 1.9 points (5.3), while McLaren gains two (4.4), with the result that Lando Norris often finds himself ahead of the two Ferrari cars.
Now there are two races on the Red Bull Ring (GP of Styria and Austria), a circuit that could restore oxygen to Ferrari with the powerful braking, but where the engine also counts, and the MCL35M is fitted with a Mercedes. Charles Leclerc could need another masterpiece, like the one a year ago.
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