It’s getting worse. A real disaster for Scuderia Ferrari which, after a double tactical error costing it the victory in Monaco, this time saw its two single-seaters retire in just twenty laps following mechanical breakdowns. A double zero point tearing the heart of the tifosis.
While Maranello had started the season with a bang and we saw the F1-75 dominate and the “Reds” finally reconnect with the titles, it’s total berezina. Forty-four points lost suddenly against Red Bull, which now has an 80 lead among the manufacturers.
As in Barcelona already, the poleman and leader Charles Leclerc saw all his hopes of success go up in smoke on the 20th lap. Eleven laps earlier, his Spanish team-mate had already parked his Ferrari following brake problems… “I was in the lead when I felt a loss of power”, explained the Monegasque, annoyed. “I looked in my mirror, I saw the cloud of smoke and I understood. This is the third time in a row that I have lost first place without my fault. It hurts. “
As much as seeing the gap widen with his rival Max Verstappen, now 34 units ahead. The time when the little prince pranced at the head of the championship already seems a long way off: “The motivation remains the same. I will try to forget that as soon as possible. We have a very fast car with which we can win races. There are enough GPs left to recover. We will try to win the next one in Canada .”
But there is an obvious reliability concern that Maranello must resolve as soon as possible. “I don’t understand because at the start of the year, we were supposed to be less reliable and it didn’t break”, concluded Charles Leclerc, now third in the championship.
“I’m sorry for our drivers and the whole team”, regretted boss Mattia Binotto. “We took risks to make our engine more powerful. Today, we are paying for it. But we are working hard for medium and long-term reliability.”
For the short term, we just have to cross our fingers…