Press review: "Ferrari has risen at Spa after the disappointments in Silverstone and Budapest"

Press review: “Ferrari has risen at Spa after the disappointments in Silverstone and Budapest”. Press review.

The Sprint format proves to be a friend of the Scuderia
Third podium of the season, all achieved by Charles Leclerc, all in Sprint weekends where the Monegasque driver secured a pole position in Qualifying and a front-row start in the other two occasions. The first part of the 2023 championship concluded with a satisfying third place for Leclerc and Ferrari at the magnificent Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. This result was not a result of special circumstances and saw the representative of the Scuderia comfortably control the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, finishing the race not far from a Red Bull, piloted by Sergio Perez.

Max Verstappen continues to dominate the category, but behind the Red Bull at the 7.004-kilometre Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot, Ferrari showed up again after the disappointing outings in Silverstone and Budapest. “Yesterday in the Ardennes, we saw the best Ferrari of the championship,” reads the editorial by Italian journalist Leo Turrini on Il Resto del Carlino. “The race pace was good, the strategy was spot-on, tire changes were perfect, and above all, Ferrari was calmly ahead of the Mercedes, which tried everything to snatch the third place from Charles Leclerc.”

“Behind the Red Bull, there’s the red of Ferrari,” is the headline of La Repubblica. “Ferrari at Spa has risen again after the disappointments in Silverstone and Budapest,” says Massimo Calandri. “They earned a well-deserved podium with Charles Leclerc, who started from pole and was the strongest, excluding the Red Bull, of course. The pace of the SF-23 was the best of this first part of the year: towards the end, Charles Leclerc was close to the spaceship of ‘Checo’ Perez. It’s a shame for the incident that, after the start, involved Carlos Sainz, touched by Oscar Piastri, and forced to retire. Otherwise, there would have been room for the other Ferrari as well. The Maranello team has moved ahead of Mercedes and McLaren: mission accomplished.” – La Repubblica wrote.

“The Ferrari podium is a sign of rebirth after the mishaps in Silverstone and Budapest,” read the columns of the Italian daily newspaper Corriere dello Sport. “The management of the weekend brought joy to everyone, to Fred Vasseur and the Maranello team. With Charles Leclerc’s podium, Ferrari is now five points behind Aston Martin in the fight for third place in the Constructors’ standings. Mercedes is currently second with a 56-point margin ahead of the Scuderia. This gap is not insurmountable if Ferrari continues to secure podium finishes in all the races in the second half of the season.” – Corriere dello Sport concluded after the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa.