Page 32 - Ferrari in F1

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At the end of a crazy race at the British
Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz Jr. took the first
victory of his career!
IMPERIAL VERSTAPPEN
Unfortunately for the Italian team, the remainder of the
season was not to be so uplifting. This was due to a thunderous
“wake-up call” from Red Bull, whose RB18 just needed a little
time to mature, especially in the hands of Max Verstappen. The
Dutchman won 14 of the next 19 Grand Prix, leaving his rivals
nothing but crumbs, authoritatively pocketing a new world title –
and Red Bull a fifth.
Ferrari continued its ascent to the top of the podium and
finished runner-up in the Constructors’ Championship. All did
not go smoothly. At the Monaco Grand Prix, Leclerc took pole
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again and was determined to win at home, but the weather got in
the way and the Scuderia was in the pits, bringing its top driver
back twice to switch from rain tires to slicks. Leclerc finished only
fourth and did not mince his words at the finish. Mattia Binotto,
Director of Sports Management since 2019, ears were ringing!
Next, in Great Britain, three Grand Prix later, Carlos Sainz Jr.
scored his first victory in red at the end of a thrilling race (and
a huge crash for Chinese driver Zhou at the start). Once again,
however, there was a lot of internal strife, because if the Spaniard
was finally on the top step of the podium, he owed his success to
a rather vague strategy on Ferrari’s part. He was given soft tires at
the end of the race, when Leclerc, despite leading the field, was
fitted with the usual hard tires. To say that Leclerc and Binotto
were at loggerheads is an understatement!
The rest of the season followed a similar pattern, with highs
(Leclerc’s victory in Austria, poles for Sainz Jr. in Belgium and the
United States, poles for Leclerc in Italy and Singapore), but also
some lows (double retirement in Azerbaijan, Leclerc’s mistake and
retirement in France, Leclerc’s poor start from pole in Singapore,
Sainz Jr. departure at the first corner for despite his pole in
Austin). The balance sheet however, was largely positive, with
a runner-up position in the Constructors’ standings (205 points
behind Red Bull, but 39 ahead of Mercedes) and a runner-up
World Championship title for Leclerc, who achieved the feat of
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beating Sergio Pérez, Red Bull’s second driver. ■
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