Carlos Sainz’s fifth place is the best that the Scuderia could bring home from Zandvoort, a track where the SF-23 never found a good balance. The team, with the Spanish driver, managed to stay ahead of cars that appeared faster on paper, while the contact on the first lap with Oscar Piastri compromised Leclerc’s performance, who was then forced to retire. The Netherlands teaches us that it won’t be easy for the Prancing Horse to hope to aspire to the role of the second force held by Mercedes.
“I hope to finish in the top 5,” Carlos Sainz had said on Saturday, and so it was. There’s no reason to celebrate, considering that the ten points earned by the Spaniard were the entire Ferrari haul for the Zandvoort weekend. However, in the 72 laps completed on Sunday, the Maranello team has nothing to reproach itself for. The car had already highlighted its significant handling issues on Friday and yesterday, and the expectations could not have been higher than what was achieved today.
Charles Leclerc’s race was influenced by contact with Oscar Piastri in the first lap, a minor touch that proved crucial as the right endplate of the front wing ended up under the floor, damaging it. “It was a light contact – Charles Leclerc confirmed – and I didn’t think it would have such a significant impact on the car.”
Still in the opening lap, Charles Leclerc decided to return to the pits to switch from slick tires (which he started with) to intermediates. Charles informed the team when he was already in the pit lane, catching the pit crew off guard as they had to retrieve the tires from the box. In total, the operation took seven seconds longer than usual.
“It was a last-minute call – Frederic Vasseur commented – but it was the right one, even though we took more time than usual to retrieve the tires. When everyone completed the operation, Charles gained several positions, even passing Carlos.” This analysis was also shared by Leclerc himself: “I knew I made a last-minute call, but I had anticipated that even by losing six or seven seconds more in the pit stop, I would easily recover them in a lap. I believe that choice was the right one.”
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The pit stop at the end of the first lap allowed Charles Leclerc to move from eighth to fifth position, also ahead of Fernando Alonso. As the track gradually dried, the problems with the floor of his car emerged, starting a long ordeal that ended with his definitive retirement on the forty-first lap. “I felt that something was wrong with the car – Charles confirmed – and with sixty points less of downforce, my race was effectively over. We were only hoping for rain to return because in wet conditions, the issue had less impact on performance, but it came too late.”
Carlos Sainz paid the price for the second lap pit stop but managed to complete a challenging race. “At one point, it seemed like we could fight for the podium – Carlos explained – but the reality is that we were looking at our pace, and we weren’t in good shape. Nonetheless, we managed to have a good race, fighting with opponents who were faster, so we must be content with fifth place, it was the best we could do.”
For Carlos Sainz, the last six laps were tense; not having a new set of intermediates left, he feared he wouldn’t be able to withstand Lewis Hamilton’s final assault. “It was a tire train that I had already used extensively in qualifying – Carlos confirmed – but I managed to keep Lewis behind and secure fifth place.”
In its overall assessment, the Zandvoort weekend was one of the most difficult for Ferrari in 2023. “In terms of balance and drivability of the car, it was probably the toughest weekend of the season – Charles Leclerc confirmed – so we need to examine it because in the last two or three races, we were improving from this standpoint.”
Frederic Vasseur didn’t dismiss the choice of not using maximum aerodynamic load even after the race. He was convinced that with a better starting position, Leclerc could have had a good race, but doubts remain. In addition to Red Bull, today Sainz’s pace was far from Alonso’s, Gasly’s, and even from the two Mercedes, which eliminated themselves from the fight for the top positions by choosing not to change tires in the first two laps after the start of the Dutch Grand Prix.
If the goal is to finish the season as the second force, the trip to Zandvoort is an important wake-up call. It’s true that behind the two Red Bulls, the hierarchies have varied a lot depending on the types of tracks, but the progress shown by Aston Martin and McLaren doesn’t seem to be solely linked to the friendly curves of Zandvoort.
Monza will require something more, not to aim for absolute results, but to at least fight for the lower step of the podium, which is the best the Red Bull’s competitors can aspire to today. “Monza is always special for us – Charles Leclerc concluded – but on the other hand, I can’t wait to have a car that can really help me and Carlos fight for the top positions. Handling was the biggest issue this weekend, and we hope to have a better car next weekend.”
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