Next Sunday, the Formula 1 teams will start at the Belgian Grand Prix, and after the summer break, everyone will return to work with renewed vigor. In addition, many had to do a thorough work on the mistakes, and above all this applies to Ferrari.
The season started off great for the Scuderia, but problems with the reliability of equipment, tactical miscalculations, as well as mistakes made by the riders, led to the fact that Red Bull Racing confidently leads in both standings of the championship. And this despite the fact that the Ferrari F1-75 is considered the fastest car in the championship.
Max Verstappen is 80 points ahead of Charles Leclerc, and this is a whole chasm that can still be overcome, but purely theoretically, because 234 points have to be played over the remaining nine races. Maranello understands that if they fail to turn the tide and Verstappen continues to win at the same pace, then he can win his second title already in Singapore.
Of course, Leclerc will do everything to prevent this. One of the strongest qualities of the Monegasque is psychological stamina. Now he has almost nothing to lose, and he can afford to act as aggressively as possible on the track, squeezing everything out of the car and giving all the best.
If he manages to win in Belgium – and experts believe that this track is great for Ferrari – it will give him extra energy, and then he will start the Dutch Grand Prix with the most fighting spirit. If everything goes well in Zandvoort as Leclerc needs, then on September 11 in Monza he will be provided with the most powerful support of the typhosi. How important this is, Charles remembers from 2019, when he was able to take on Lewis Hamilton at the classic Italian circuit.
You can recall the words of the Ferrari pilot, said by him in Hungary: he then said that if he won all the remaining races, then he would get the title, even if Verstappen finished second. On the one hand, the probability of such a scenario is small, on the other hand, it is different from zero. Sebastian Vettel in 2013 won all the races that took place after the summer break, and with them his fourth title.
In theory, the Leclerc machine allows you to repeat that German achievement. Charles won in Austria, in France he was in the lead, but he himself made a mistake. In Hungary, he was also in the lead, but Ferrari chose a strange tactic, and yet he certainly had a chance of success.
In addition, Charles’ team-mate Carlos Sainz has been on the rise lately, scoring regularly and has scored more points in the previous four races than Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Pérez. If Ferrari can wisely use the speed capabilities of the Spaniard in their tactical formations, this will also help Leclerc very well.
In any case, the main condition for success for the Scuderia and its leading racer should be to increase efficiency in all aspects of work. There should be no problems with the reliability of equipment, especially the power plant; the team’s strategists should act more clearly, thoughtfully and boldly, and Leclerc should take an example from his main rival: Max Verstappen performs fantastically consistently and makes almost no mistakes.
If during the summer break Maranello could take steps to meet all these conditions, then the fight for the title will continue until the season finale – this is what not only Ferrari and Leclerc, but also the organizers of the championship and the fans need. And it makes no sense to guess how events will develop in Abu Dhabi. We know from history that anything can happen on this track.