Ferrari won four and seven and seven in the Formula 1 race in Suzuka. Particularly bitter: The Scuderia around Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton did not have to chalk a mistake – the car is simply unable to fight against Verstappen and the McLarens. The disappointment with the red is correspondingly great.
Charles Leclerc kept both Mercedes pilots in chess and ended up in fourth place shortly before the silver arrows. Lewis Hamilton overtaken Isack Hadjar and improved to seventh place compared to qualifying.
There was nothing more for Ferrari in the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Suzuka. Verstappen and both McLarens drove in a world that is unreachable for the Scuderia.
Disappointing for a team that actually wants to fight for victories and titles. Precisely because you cannot be accused of mistakes in the red.
“The car simply didn’t give up,” said Leclerc at the end of the race at the “Sky” micro. “If you do everything perfectly and are still only fourth and two to three tenths are behind the cars in front of you, that’s disappointing.”
Formula 1: Ferrari “got the maximum out”
“As a team in the strategy and balance, we did everything right and got the maximum out,” continued the Monegasse. “The positive is that we have brought the maximum out, but the negative is that it is not particularly great compared to others.”
The analysis of team boss Frédéric Vasseur sounded similar. “We had a clean weekend, good pit stops and a good strategy. Operatively, everything went well, which is important for the team’s self -confidence.”
But with the French, the conclusion sounds more positive, perhaps also more glossy? “Now we have to work a bit on the setup and the balance of the car. McLaren is one step further and we have to push hard,” said Leclerc and Hamilton boss.
After the bitter double disqualification in Shanghai, you continued to lose ground in Suzuka on the ground. After all, the distance to Red Bull and Mercedes was held. But Scuderia is already under pressure in Bahrain.
“Bahrain is very special because we tested there for three days. That means we understand a little better how the tires behave,” said Vasseur. This “special” factor also applies to the other nine teams in the starting line -up. Ferrari threatens the next neck strike in Bahrain.