Ferrari against Mercedes, Sainz against Leclerc: the duels in F1 behind Verstappen

Red Bull is world champion of brands, long live Red Bull. In two weeks it will be Max Verstappen’s turn to become champion, in all likelihood already on Saturday in the Sprint, where he will only need to score 3 points, those ensured by a placing in the top 6 (HERE VERSTAPPEN SE CHAMPION). But even if he doesn’t make it on Saturday, he will still have Sunday left, and we will witness the celebrations of a three-time F1 world champion, never something to be taken for granted. After that there will still be 5 races left to play, is it boring? No, because after the races in Singapore and Suzuka the World Championship took an interesting turn. There are many sprints underway, all worth seeing and certainly curious. Two in particular directly concern Ferrari: the sprint for second place as constructors and the one in the standings between Sainz and Leclerc.

red trend

—

Let’s start with the first duel, the one for the title of “vice-Red Bull”. The ranking says Mercedes points 305, Ferrari 285. Ferrari has done better than Mercedes for four races, gaining more points than its rivals at the finish line, in particular Holland, Italy, Singapore and Japan. In Belgium the Stuttgart company had taken home 24 points like Maranello, thanks to the point from Hamilton’s additional lap in the race. You have to go back to Hungary to find the last GP in which the Silver Arrows scored more points than Ferrari.

mclaren third wheel

—

This year the comparison says 8 GPs with more Mercedes points, 7 with more points Ferrari which however has 3 poles to 1 to its credit and one victory to zero in the race compared to Stuttgart. With the trend of the last few races in favor of the red. At Suzuka, a super technical and demanding track for single-seaters, the SF-23s held up well against the Mercedes in terms of race pace. Of course, McLaren came out brilliantly, but in Maranello they don’t think it has the consistency to be threatening yet. Although on this point yesterday Leclerc took refuge behind a more cautious “for now they don’t worry me”. But the growth of the team led by our Andrea Stella from mid-season onwards (today fifth with 172 points) is there for all to see.

the challenge of the carli

—

The other fun sprint challenge is the one between Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. We are in the third year of the internal confrontation between the Monegasque and the Spaniard, who have so far fought against opponents equipped with faster cars. The challenge for internal supremacy saw Sainz beat Principino in 2021. Then in 2022 it was Leclerc who made up for it, even finishing in second place behind Verstappen. This third year has taken on the contours of a sort of “beautiful” one, with Sainz currently, after 16 races, 15 points ahead of Leclerc. Carlos accelerated in Monza and Singapore, with two poles and a victory. Charles responded at Suzuka, beating his teammate in qualifying and the race. Sainz worked hard at Suzuka to discover new limits, strengths and weaknesses of the SF-23, useful for 2023 but above all 2024. Six races to find out who will come out on top in the standings. Maybe it won’t be as thrilling as a fight for the title, but it won’t be such an irrelevant challenge for the balance and future choices of the Cavallino. Above all, it is not a given.