To the surprise of many, including the team members themselves, Scuderia Ferrari was competitive in the Belgian Grand Prix at the 7.004-kilometre Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot, ending the weekend with a pole position, albeit due to Max Verstappen’s penalty, and a third-place finish for Charles Leclerc.
It was a shame for Carlos Sainz, who, due to the contact in turn 1 at the race start, didn’t have the chance to achieve a good result; he will be the most disappointed, especially for the constructors’ championship fight, where every point matters to try and beat rivals Mercedes, McLaren, and Aston Martin. The celebrations also come because the Prancing Horse was the best among the rest, considering Red Bull was out of contention, as has been the case in this first part of the 2023 Formula 1 campaign.
However, Italian journalist Giorgio Terruzzi focuses on another aspect: the Milton Keynes team was there, and the gap between Max Verstappen and the Monegasque shouldn’t leave them at ease.
“For me, Ferrari’s result in Belgium doesn’t seem like good news. I don’t think the fact that Charles Leclerc has surpassed Carlos Sainz in the standings changes anything, as we’ve already seen how things go. We are used to seeing everyone take half-hearted victories where even a podium seems like good news, even 30 seconds behind Max Verstappen, but still, we’re not there. We need to understand if this performance of being the best of the rest is a Belgium-specific opportunity or if it’s an attestation there, although I don’t think so,” the journalist said in his podcast.
“The SF-23 is incomprehensible.”
The summer break will then be a time to deal with a capricious SF-23, as the predictions of the past weekends have been the opposite of reality, an aspect that Giorgio Terruzzi points out: “Even Charles Leclerc was confused by the results he obtained. The fact is that the car is so bizarre that it goes fast when it shouldn’t and goes slow when no one expects it. Both Carlos Sainz and the Monegasque have said that they expected a big hit in Hungary, but they did well in Spa-Francorchamps, which is a very different track, and they were competitive with all tire compounds.” – he explained.
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However, to find a positive side, it must be said that rival teams also exhibit the same behavior, and every Sunday, the team that comes first behind Red Bull changes. At the moment, it’s difficult to predict who will come out on top, as we have to wait for the updates that will arrive in September, but perhaps it’s fine this way, as it brings some excitement to an otherwise forgettable 2023 Formula One championship.
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