A convincing race by the Reds
Twenty points starting from the sixth row with both cars: Ferrari didn’t make it to the podium in front of the home crowd at Imola, but the Scuderia’s performance on Sunday was clearly in a different league compared to the debacle seen in Saturday’s Qualifying. Lewis Hamilton finished the GP in fourth place, Charles Leclerc in sixth, but above all, the Monegasque driver truly enlivened the Imola race thanks also to a very aggressive strategy set by the Ferrari pit wall—though hindered by the neutralizations that followed the technical retirements of Esteban Ocon and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Of course, a fourth and a sixth place are not results to be overly joyful about, but it’s clear that the SF-25—like the SF-24—is a car better suited for racing than qualifying, and looking through the pages of Italy’s main newspapers, there’s a noticeable shift in tone after the natural criticisms that followed Saturday’s disaster.
“Ferrari saves face” is the headline in Corriere della Sera, although Giorgio Terruzzi in his editorial points out that the consolation is “minimal”: “Everyone lost, except Max Verstappen. But of course, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton took on the burden of salvaging something and carried out two recoveries that offer minimal consolation. Made in Italy struggled terribly to shine, as did the red team, not to mention the drivers’ morale—with Leclerc now devoid of words, in the absence of clear direction, useful treatment or reassurance.”
“Small steps” is the headline chosen by La Stampa in its coverage of the Emilia Romagna GP. The Turin-based newspaper highlights how Ferrari is “schizophrenic” in terms of performance, with no explanation for its highs or lows: “Ferrari changes its face without reason. After a disastrous Saturday, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc finished just behind the top cars. There’s no explanation, much less a solution. One day they’re apologizing to the fans, the next they’re nearly on the podium after a bold comeback from mid-grid. Honor is saved; everything else needs to be rethought,” writes Stefano Mancini.
“Comeback Ferraris find their smile again,” is the headline in Repubblica: “The art of suffering and the gift of humanity. A nearly poetic Sunday for Ferrari at Imola after a Saturday of ghosts and cruelty. After a qualifying session that once again exposed the limits of a capricious and mysterious car, often two-faced, the team’s proud reaction followed. (Almost) everything worked, and even the pale red in qualifying came alive in race pace—thanks to well-planned yet flexible strategies, plenty of overtaking, and a drive from the drivers as if it were the last race, the only one worthy of honor,” begins the article by Alessandra Retico.
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