F1 Challenge in Ferrari: Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc

Where will he be, if he can compete with Mercedes and Red Bull, if he manages to fight for at least a few GPs, we will only understand in the tests. Or perhaps, more likely, in Bahrain, at the first race of the season. What is certain is that the Ferrari 2022 will have two points. It will start immediately with a completely different condition from that of a year ago, when Carlos Sainz was talking about the apprenticeship and the adaptation period on the new car. He only to finish the season ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc in the standings. Result that he caused a stir, but that perhaps he shouldn’t, for a whole series of reasoning. First of all, because it is not a novelty, indeed in Ferrari it would seem almost a kind of recent tradition: Leclerc himself had conquered more points than Sebastian Vettel upon his arrival in Rosso in 2019. Just as – much more predictably – Vettel had done so much in the comparisons of Kimi Raikkonen in 2015, as much as Kimi himself with Massa in 2007. But in those cases they were big players who arrived with those expectations: Sainz surprised everyone. Although – and this is never stressed enough – he had been with McLaren for two years in which he had beaten up-and-coming Lando Norris.

Carlos in front, but Charles …

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But it is Sainz’s supposed success over Leclerc that must be read a little more completely than the 5.5 points more that earned him fifth place in the standings, against his teammate’s seventh. There are also more podiums, it’s true: 4 for Carlos, against just one for Charles. But these are figures that must be counterbalanced: in the race Leclerc finished in front of his teammate 14 times against 8, and in qualifying he went faster 13 times against 9. Even in terms of fast laps he finished 12-9 for him (at Spa not there was a fast lap). Not to mention the two zero pole positions and the two races, Monaco and Budapest, in which Leclerc retired innocent. In the first of which, moreover, he should have started from pole. In short, he has something to complain about. Even if who came in front is of relative importance, it is important to note that the two have equaled much more than expected. Which argues in favor of the rookie Sainz, of course. What made the difference in the standings was his consistency. One fact: Carlos is the only one of the 20 drivers to have completed all 22 races of 2021, 20 of which in the points. Hence the widespread opinion that he is more solid and Charles is faster in qualifying and potentially more whimsical.

the opinion of Capelli

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“Ultimately, that’s exactly what happened,” says the former Ferrari driver and TV commentator Ivan Capelli. “Sainz had to adapt to the new methods of a team that is more complicated than the others. And he did it well. I believe that being able to speak Italian, which he has known since Toro Rosso, has also helped him. He is a driver who sets the tone. He does a good job and manages situations and tires well. Charles is quicker on the flying lap. Last year he was expected to be more team leader, but he may not always have succeeded, because in previous years, with Vettel, no one he asked for nothing. Having pressure on your shoulders makes a big difference. ” Also according to Capelli, therefore, he starts with two first guides. Moreover, the same tests of recent days with the 2018 car would have registered a great Sainz. That in 55 “94 he would have beaten the Fiorano record belonging to Michael Schumacher (55” 99). “Ferrari – continues Capelli – must start preparing itself for the management of two drivers with the same ambitions, the same desire and the same chances of winning. We are Italians who believe that a hierarchy is needed in the team, so many times the English have put two stars on the track, I am thinking of Mansell-Piquet at Williams, Senna-Prost at McLaren. Then, if anything, the season will create it, the hierarchy “. Binotto, in 2021 underway, when the two pilots showed the first flashes of the duel, he said he can’t wait to have orders to give. It would mean that at least one of them would be fighting for something that matters.