While Red Bull Racing Dutch driver Max Verstappen looked comfortable out in front at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez and secured a new season record for wins, Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix completed a very difficult weekend for Scuderia Ferrari.
The F1-75 cars did not look comfortable at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez ever since the start of the preparations on Friday, as both drivers were not able to match the pace shown by Mercedes or Red Bull. Charles Leclerc even suffered a crash in the second free practice session, which did not allow him to complete the Maranello team’s programme in FP2.
It was Scuderia Ferrari’s second difficult weekend this year, after the one in Belgium, with the Maranello team, who looked to have the fastest car on the grid in the first part of the 2022 Formula 1 championship, now without a race win since the Austrian Grand Prix, which was held back in July at the Red Bull Ring.
After the terrible pace at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, the question is, should the fans pin Scuderia Ferrari’s poor performance in Mexico City just on altitude? British racing driver from Scotland Paul di Resta, currently also a commentator for Sky Sports, is not of that opinion.
“No, I don’t think so. For the car’s performance, yes, but I wouldn’t understand why the others were less of a problem. Engine…? The Alfa Romeo was in there better and Bottas has been in there, better than he has for a long time. I fear for Ferrari because since July, they’ve not really been in with a chance to win a race. They’re out of it and Mercedes have caught them, overtaken them quite comfortably.” – former Formula 1 driver Paul Di Resta said for Sky Sports.
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“Unquestionably, Mercedes have overtaken them on a Sunday. On a Saturday, I think they can still pull it out but I fear where the Ferrari development path is going unless they’ve switched off that early when they realised it (the championship) was out of reach. That concept came out of the box absolutely superbly. It’s gone on and it’s not quite there.” – he concluded.
Scuderia Ferrari, just like the rest of the teams, will debrief about the events in Mexico City shortly, before shifting their focus to the penultimate round of the 2022 Formula 1 campaign, the Brazilian Grand Prix, which will be held based on a Sprint Race format.
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