A solitary podium with seven races done and dusted. And that’s about that.
Though, what was perhaps more concerning than any other underwhelming race weekend for Ferrari was Carlos Sainz’s recent admission that his main focus would now be on coming back stronger in 2024.
Frankly, it’s not hard to see that so far down have Ferrari slipped this season that perhaps imagining the worst after seven rounds of the ongoing championship is no longer really irrational or too much of a stretch of thought.
And lest it is forgotten, the worst that could happen to the Scuderia stable would mean securing no more than a handful of wins, and if their woeful performances last any longer, then maybe nothing more than a couple of wins.
What’s more? At their absolute worst, they could only bag a solitary win. Not that the Tifosi or the two Ferrari drivers would like that very much.
But then even for that to come true, Red Bull must fail to push the throttle as well as they’ve been all along (having won each of the race held so far) and if the vastly improved and rapidly charging Aston Martin spurred by Alonso fail to take a Grand Prix win.
Given that neither of these events are likely to happen for the sheer menacing form Verstappen is currently in is a clear indication of yet more Bull run ahead, all that Ferrari are left with is to make the most of what is still a long season ahead.
That, of course means, minimal damage on qualifying day and continuing to push on the race day.
And while Sainz and Leclerc realistically pushed as best as they could as seen at Monaco, would the Italian legend be content with a race result that reads a P6 and P8, as seen at Monte Carlo?
For sure, while Sainz has been making up for all that his more experienced Ferrari teammate hasn’t been able to do, the onus now rests on Leclerc to pick up form and urgently so.
It would definitely not amount to anything useful at all to dwell on the lost chance at Monaco particularly from Charles Leclerc’s point of view.
As confessed in the post race interview, Leclerc iterated that he was pressing on on the harder compounds and the speed on the Inters wasn’t all that demoralising.
And yet, nothing spectacular turned out in the end; a podium was far off limits given how beautifully Ocon and the twin Mercedes’ in pursuit dominated the proceedings up ahead.
All of which clearly explains why Leclerc is facing the heat.
It’s not that Sainz, the race winner at Silverstone in 2022 and the clearly the man responsible for Ferrari’s 2021 fight back, lacks the skill or the intent.
Nothing could be further from the truth; Sainz was the faster of the two drivers before Ferrari called him into the pits, which also invoked doubts about another strategic gamble since Sainz believed had he had a few more laps, he’d passed Ocon.
It’s just that being primed for a future world championship (besides an awesome fan base) and having had such a tremendous racing record heading into F1, Leclerc finds himself amid constant scrutiny.
Minor errors on his part are deemed immature and a tough introspection doesn’t elude the man tipped to be Ferrari’s golden boy.
Moreover, with age and performances on his side, having also demonstrated the will to fight Verstappen as seen in the initials rounds of the last season’s championship, not to forget their titanic duels at events like Spielberg in 2019 (where the Ferrari driver took pole ahead of Red Bull’s Verstappen at the latter’s home track only to lose out on a win), Leclerc’s only increased hopes and expectations.
But the ongoing championship’s form doesn’t suggest as though Leclerc can quickly emerge with a magic wand and correct the litany of woes.
And these are woes, well and truly speaking; post-Saudi Arabia, Charles’s has been a saga bellied by a string of lowly results.
Starting with Australia, Leclerc, who qualified 7th, registered a DNF. Am opening lap contact on turn one ended his hopes as he beached his Ferrari.
Not that he didn’t improve at Baku; a strong pole position marked the start of a good weekend wherein he’d lead four starting laps before being blitzed by a Red Bull that was 30 kms faster as Max zoomed past Leclerc.
In the end, Charles could only salvage a podium, not a win.
Next up, the start to the Miami race weekend wasn’t all that strong; a qualifying error in Q3 saw Charles hit a wall at turn 7; in the end, a compromised start to the race saw him limit overall damage, the end result being a P7.
And then, we had Monaco.
An expected third pole position on the bounce didn’t occur. Additionally, it didn’t help that Leclerc, who was due to begin third on the grid was handed a three grid drop having impeded Norris in qualifying.
The vibe, the energy may belong to Ferrari given they are so often the sentimental favourites, but the current form offers a different narrative. One that isn’t rosy and nothing like the captivating red its determined- but out of form- drivers are decked in!