With just three races to go until the 2021 Formula 1 season, Scuderia Ferrari is third in the constructors’ standings thanks to the new engine and the consistency of the drivers.
The numbers prove Ferrari right: with three races left of the season, the Italian team can count on a 31.5-point advantage over McLaren in the race for third position in the constructors’ championship, the Maranello team’s real 2021 goal. From Russia, which was the weekend of introduction of the new hybrid system on the first of the two SF21 cars, 86 points to 41 in favor of Ferrari.
This is the only valid comparison for Ferrari, knowing that the SF21 is the direct relative of the defective SF1000, born with large engine gaps and many defects.
“We are definitely in a good moment,” said Charles Leclerc. “If we look at the last two or three races, we seem to be stronger than them [McLaren]. We hope to be able to continue like this, trying to work to get the most out of the package every weekend” – the Monegasque driver added.
The last two races that, to tell the truth, were raced on circuits with very high and medium-high aerodynamic load, as well as positioned at high altitude, and therefore more favorable to the SF21 compared to the MCL35M.
What is certain is that the Woking team has lost that ability to get the most out of every situation, something that has distinguished them in the first half of the season. “What we haven’t been able to do well in recent weeks is to get the points we deserved and this is obviously disappointing,” said Team Principal Andreas Seidl in the post-race Brazil. In fact, they have scored only two points between Mexico and Brazil against Ferrari’s 37.
In the sprint race on Saturday, the SF21 suffered from a particularly limited circuit up front due to low asphalt temperatures. Not so much with the softer compound used by Carlos Sainz, as with the ‘yellow’ (Medium) chosen by Charles Leclerc.
The Monegasque driver slid a lot in the second sector, overheating the front tyres on the surface, albeit with a rather cold core, losing 2 to 3 tenths per lap compared to his teammate. A problem that, in part, was also encountered by Red Bull itself with Max Verstappen, who also started on the yellow. “The low asphalt temperature clearly went in favor of the soft tires,” said the Dutchman
The result was certainly a race below expectations for Charles, also finishing behind Lando Norris’ McLaren, in sixth position.
Criticism from part of the press was too heavy for a driver who without the zero points between Monaco and Hungary could have been a few points behind Perez in the drivers standings. That’s true, he has only collected one podium compared to Carlos Sainz’s three (like Norris) but has brought his SF21 six times to fourth position. Carlos Sainz is still at 0 (two for Norris), with two fifth positions compared to the three of the Monegasque (four for Norris).
Returning to Brazil, the increase of over 20 ° C of the asphalt in the Sunday race changed the hierarchies a bit, helping the Monegasque driver; it is no coincidence that the performances have improved, running on par with Carlos Sainz.
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In the hot Brazilian afternoon (55 ° C of asphalt) the Mediums returned to being an excellent race tire, for Ferrari even better than the Hard on the front due to the greater softness and a mandatory double-stop strategy.
With Norris out of the top positions, after the contact at the start with Carlos, the excellent Gasly in qualifying on Friday evening (Italian) has never been a threat to both reds due to a pace 3 tenths slower.
Also in Brazil there were very positive responses from the Ferrari power unit, especially regarding top speeds with medium-high downforce set-ups.
The average 3-4 tenths per lap lost in the straight at the beginning of the season compared to the MCL35M are now history, if you consider that in the Brazilian qualifying, Carlos Sainz lost just under 1 tenth between the main straight and the Reta Oposta compared to Norris, while Charles just over a tenth. On the other hand, the important difference in the corners remained, especially in the slower ones, in the order of 2-3 tenths on average, with the central sector always the prerogative of both SF21s.
A power unit that not only gave more performance, more speed on the straights and therefore a better defense, Carlos Sainz’s Sprint Race is a good example of how he managed to keep Checo Perez behind on Red Bull, but also the ability to run with more downforce for easier tire management.
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