The only ‘winning’ red
Ferrari’s results at the start of this season have been far from satisfactory. After five rounds, the Prancing Horse has taken only one podium – in Jeddah with Charles Leclerc – and one victory in the Sprint race in China with Lewis Hamilton. The standings are bleak: in the Constructors’ Championship, the Maranello team is only fourth, already 110 points behind the leaders, and in the Drivers’ standings, Leclerc is fifth, 52 points off leader Oscar Piastri.
However, there is one area – which certainly isn’t enough to comfort the fans but still deserves to be highlighted – where Ferrari is clearly outperforming all other teams: pit stops. During the golden years of Michael Schumacher, the red garage was known for its extreme pit stop efficiency. On track, those days feel long gone, but in the pit lane, the men in red seem to be returning to the top.
Always on top and ‘one-two’ in Jeddah
In the first five GPs of this year, the fastest pit stop of each race was always performed by the Ferrari mechanics. The consistency in performance is particularly impressive: 2.32 seconds in Australia, 2.05 in China, 2.18 in Japan, 2.16 in Bahrain, and finally a flat 2 seconds (season record) in Jeddah.
Saudi Arabia was truly the peak: Ferrari pulled off a ‘one-two’, with Charles Leclerc’s stop being the fastest overall and Lewis Hamilton’s ranking second at 2.07 seconds. The closest crew was Mercedes, who took 2.32 seconds to change the tires on Antonelli’s car.
One can’t help but recall the compliments Lewis Hamilton gave over the radio in Bahrain for a particularly quick tire change. It’s now clear that wasn’t an isolated case. For those dreaming of bringing world titles back to Maranello – which have been absent for almost two decades – it’s obviously not enough, but it’s right to acknowledge those who are honoring the red uniform in the best possible way through their work.
Leave a Reply