Austria bis recounted an era of F1 at dusk: 60 laps, Verstappen with the race now in control makes an additional pit stop to also conquer the point of the fastest lap and extend to +32 on Hamilton. Crazy stuff – he says -, so I didn’t expect it, the car was unreal. And with a Red Bull so difficult to think that he could lose the World Championship. The next GP, at Silverstone, Mercedes’ backyard, the last call for Lewis Hamilton. Technical updates will come, but to stop SuperMax it would take an arsenal.
The Ferrari from the Austrian double comes out reduced compared to the good tests at the beginning of the season, the pole in Monaco and that of Baku. the fourth force in the World Championship, down by 19 points compared to McLaren. a recoverable detachment, the problem that you do not see growth. The team did well to limit the damage in Austria, sacrificing qualifying, but the technical base of this SF21 extremely weak. Either it works in qualifying or in the race, and the choice involves major sacrifices. And since, as Mattia Binotto points out, the car itself is the same as in Bahrain, it is not clear how the English team can be recovered in the race for third constructors place. That was the minimum milestone of this transitional season, waiting for the turning point in 2022, but not even anymore. Because after the second Austrian GP the same team principal says that third place is not the priority objective: the most important thing is to grow and improve as a team. We are focused on next season, we pay a power gap on the straight compared to McLaren but there are circuits where our performances have been superior. We knew that Austria was in favor of them, in the end we only lost three points in two races.
If he says so, perhaps because perhaps he senses that McLaren has greater potential, but the English team practically runs with only one driver. Unstoppable for Ferrari. Lando Norris, on the 141 points of the Woking lui made 101. Ricciardo in a crisis never seen before, inexplicable. In Austria Lando could have also finished second without the severe 5 ” penalty that the defense commissioners gave him on Perez at the start. Norris is deciding the destinies of the other championship, in the comparison with the reds on the podiums with a 3-1 advantage (Sainz’s only place in the top 3, a second place in Monte Carlo).
At the Red Bull Ring, Sainz thought about limiting the damage and saving a budget that could have been worse. the third GP that the Spaniard closes in front of his mate: the Australian overtaking Ricciardo on the last lap, the Australian was in front of him after starting thirteenth. a fifth place of pride and struggle, but it should not be transformed into a business. This is the value of today’s Ferrari, where the best thing is the drivers: without Leclerc’s repeated assaults on Perez – completely in doll – there would not have been the two penalties (10 ”) to the Mexican of Red Bull who promoted Sainz to a position after the finish. Leclerc’s race was ruined by Sergio Perez’s doors, the Mexican apologized but with his irregular maneuvers he took away from the Monegasque the possibility of placing himself better. Maybe he too could have overtaken Ricciardo.
More was expected from Ferrari, and even within the team, on the eve, there was more optimism about performance at the Red Bull Ring. The next stage, in England, a land of very fast curves, is scary. Even at Silverstone (where the sprint race will debut) we must play in defense: It will be a difficult track – admits Binotto, in some respects similar to France, especially due to tire wear. But we are working to correct our weaknesses. Hoping for the counterattack.
July 5, 2021 (change July 5, 2021 | 09:21)
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