errari lost ground against its rivals after the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday, however the margin achieved by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in the first three races of the season allows the Italian team to continue to lead the drivers’ and constructors’ championship. . At an opposite pole, Mercedes, a team that dominated the tracks consecutively from 2014 to 2021, has ruled out its chances of fighting for a title this year.
After winning with the Monegasque Leclerc in two of the first three races of the season and a double podium finish, Ferrari had its worst result of the season at home. Leclerc, finished sixth after suffering a spin when he was third and his teammate, the Spaniard Carlos Sainz, was out of the race in a collision on the first lap (his second consecutive retirement), which dropped from second to fifth position in the championship.
Leclerc wanted to take advantage of Sergio Pérez’s pit stop, who was running second, for an overtake and when the Monegasque increased speed he touched one of the edges in a curve, which caused him to leave the track and crash into the tire wall of containment. Charles had to enter the pits to review the car; this cost him a drop to ninth position and he was only able to make up three places at the end of the race.
“Third place was the best I could get because they didn’t have the pace for much more and I paid for that ambition (for wanting to win),” acknowledged Leclerc, who had to settle for eight points, instead of the 15 awarded by the team. third place.
The Italian team still has room to continue their title aspirations. Leclerc maintained the top spot in the drivers’ championship with 86 points, 27 ahead of Max Verstappen, reigning world champion and his closest rival. And although Spaniard Carlos Sainz slipped to fifth place, Ferrari is 11 points clear of Red Bull in the constructors’ championship.
After two years of setbacks, this season Ferrari had one of its best starts. Only in the inaugural Grand Prix in Bahrain did the drivers make the one-two; in Saudi Arabia they also made a double podium with a second and third place and Leclerc obtained pole position, the fastest lap and victory in the Australian GP, that is, the Monegasque’s first Grand Chelem in F1 and the first for Ferrari since Fernando Alonso at the 2010 Singapore GP.
Mercedes does not see itself as a contender for the title
Mercedes is another of F1’s powerhouse teams that had its lowest point yet at Imola, Italy. In qualifying, the German team failed to appear in the top 10 for the first time since 2012, instead George Russell started 11th and Lewis Hamilton started 14th. Meanwhile, on race day, the seven-time champion He was out of the points zone.
George Russell is keeping Mercedes afloat by being the only driver to break into the top five in every race so far, but inside the team, while trying to resolve issues as quickly as possible, they remain realistic. about your opportunities.
“We have four races and today marks the lowest point of the first four (…) It is obvious that we are not even close to the fight at the front. It would be unrealistic to claim that we have a place among the top contenders fighting for the championship,” said Toto Wolff, German team principal.
With no points scored for the first time this year at the Italian circuit, Hamilton currently sits seventh in the Drivers’ Championship, 58 below leader Charles Leclerc.
“I’m out of the championship, for sure, there’s no doubt about that, but I’ll keep working hard and try to get it back somehow. Everyone feels it, and everyone is crestfallen doing the best they can, there is no one giving up, everyone is trying to move as fast as they can, “said the Briton who is, along with Michael Schumacher, the driver with the most World Championships in F1 history.