Sergio Pérez did take second but the team know how strong Ferrari are and can fight them only if their machinery keeps turning over. Red Bull’s kit is no doubt quick but also questionable. Crucially his car ran like clockwork and was the class of the field, its pace, balance and handling demonstrating that Ferrari have the package to beat this year.
#Charles leclerc f1 driver
The 24‑year‑old driver was in a league of his own in Melbourne, sealing a grand slam of pole, win, leading every lap and the fastest lap – he led by a full 20 seconds at the flag. The lead is deserved on behalf of both Ferrari and Leclerc. Leclerc has opened a chasm to the chasing pack with 71 points, Russell moved up to second on 37 with Hamilton now on 28, three in front of Verstappen’s 25. In what is likely to be a closely fought development war, Verstappen is more than aware of the weight of every point that has slipped through his fingers, even with 20 races still remaining. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, who finished third and fourth respectively, have not had the car to even challenge Red Bull all season, yet they leave Melbourne ahead. “Even such a talent needs a competitive car,” Montezemolo added.While Red Bull absorbed the blow of Verstappen’s car expiring, the second time it has retired in three races, it was compounded by the Dutchman having to face the ignominy of being overtaken in the championship by both Mercedes drivers. “ Charles Leclerc is very good but he’s going through a very delicate moment in his career because, although still very young, the years are slipping through his fingers. “I hope this can happen again but it must be the best engineers on the market – or any nationality because to win, you need competence. Before, even with Superman, we wouldn’t have succeeded. “Schumacher only arrived when we knew the driver would make the difference. “When I put together the dream team, I took Jean Todt, Stefano Domenicali, Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne. “It is about finding the best people on the market,” he said.
“But they do have to give the newcomers a chance, even if the weeks ahead will be incredibly tough.”īut Montezemolo thinks the main problem for Ferrari is finding new personnel. “Ferrari changed management over the winter,” he told Krone newspaper. “Then there is Mercedes, persisting with an admittedly innovative concept that clearly does not work.”įormer Ferrari driver Gerhard Berger, however, sides with Montezemolo in admitting that the great Maranello marque’s crisis is “the most difficult for me”.
Then there is Alpine, whose ascent is so slow. “There are historic teams like McLaren who are not only rebuilding but, year after year, are sinking. And a crisis at all levels, whether you are big or small. “Wherever you look, you can see that it’s not right and, in a way, it’s already a crisis. “It’s been a strange start to the season,” the Frenchman told L’Equipe. “Because Ferrari no longer knows where they are – the worst possible condition to be in.”īut another former Ferrari driver, quadruple world champion Alain Prost, says Ferrari is not the only team in crisis because of Red Bull’s utter dominance. “Difficult choices now have to be made,” he told La Repubblica newspaper. “Ferrari is experiencing an identity crisis,” said former Ferrari driver and top Italian motor racing official Ivan Capelli.
The 75-year-old Italian is not alone in his analysis of the current situation in Formula 1 for Ferrari. “I’m sorry to see it in this state and I don’t think it’s a short-term crisis,” Montezemolo added. “You put a knife in the wound,” he said on the LA7 program Piazzapulita, “because together with my family, Ferrari has been the most important thing in my life. Ferrari is in “crisis”, according to the Maranello team’s former and highly-successful president Luca di Montezemolo.
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