Ferrari certainly have one of the best driver pairings in Formula 1, perhaps even the best on the grid. And in continuity with the the management of the 2021 and 2022 seasons, the Maranello team preparing to start the 2023 championship without clear hierarchies: there will be no first driver between Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, at least not in the first half of the upcoming F1 campaign. They will be free to fight and challenge for the title in the same way.
On the one hand, this can lead to an increase in the level of competitiveness on the part of both, giving the team an advantage in the world championship race. On the other hand, however, there is the risk that the challenge between the Monegasque and the Spaniard could become extremely intense and lead to an internal battle. Strange but true, the concept in summary is: having two top drivers in the team without any hierarchy could prove to be a double-edged sword. It is a fear many fans and team bosses have. Among those who share this view there is also Vitantonio Liuzzi, who has addressed the topic in a recent analysis for Autosprint.
Asked about the situation on the Maranello team, Vitantonio Liuzzi first of all focused on the SF-23 assembled in Maranello and presented exactly last week at the Fiorano circuit: “Italians are always very good at demonstrating how much heart they put into the things they do. There was a lot of anticipation behind the new Ferrari and, although at first glance the car doesn’t look very different from last year’s, we will certainly see important developments” said the former Formula 1 driver, now part of the F1 Commission.
Referring to the departure of Mattia Binotto and the appointment of Frederic Vasseur at the top of the Ferrari Racing Division, he added: “The structural changes at Ferrari for the upcoming season, especially on the management front, have certainly generated important expectations. We will also see the Prancing Horse competing at the top of the standings as the team has worked for a long time in view of 2023” – the Italian added.
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Coming back to the hierarchies matter, Vitantonio Liuzzi is convinced that the new French boss will have a lot to do to keep the balance within the team intact: “I have some perplexities with the pair of drivers because it is known that, before the championship, the drivers say from the rooftops that they love each other and get along with each other but then the season begins and…”. And it is not given that everything will go smoothly, on the contrary. “Inevitably, the first skirmishes arise or misunderstandings can occur that generate a sort of internal war. I think the team principal will be called to a very important task which will translate into knowing how to best manage the harmony between the drivers,” added Vitantonio Liuzzi, who raced in Formula 1 for the Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Force India and HRT teams
“Ferrari has a rider who has nothing to envy to its competitors who are already World Champions and has a teammate who is able to express excellent speed qualities, albeit in a fluctuating way. I think that within a team it is essential to work together. It will therefore be very important to see who will be able to make the difference in the first six races and then establish a hierarchy”, underlined the Italian.
Crucial, to the advantage of one or the other, could prove to be the psychological aspect, increasingly important in this frenetic era marked, in the case of Formula 1, by a calendar made up by 23 events. In this regard, Vitantonio Liuzzi commented: “I think Charles Leclerc has amply demonstrated that he is a first driver in the past but, as we have seen with Sebastian Vettel, even leaders can collapse. The psychological level is always very important. I can’t say if Carlos Sainz has the ability and the deviousness to fight against top drivers of the caliber of Max Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton. Something that Charles Leclerc, on the other hand, has already done. The desire and hunger of a driver are always very important and perhaps they will make up for any physical problems in such a long championship. It could be the psychological side that tips the scale, due to the media pressure, after the track and on the track. In the past there were fewer races but many tests, now everything has changed and it’s increasingly a psychological question.” – the ex-Formula 1 driver concluded.
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