Home » Ferrari, an opportunity thrown away at Monza. From here to the end we hope for the wild card (and we are working towards 2022)

Ferrari, an opportunity thrown away at Monza. From here to the end we hope for the wild card (and we are working towards 2022)

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The double McLaren, rival for the third constructors place, with Verstappen and Hamilton out, leaves a bad taste in the mouth. The efforts no longer concern the SF21, but next year’s car

On lap 26 of the Italian GP someone hoped for it. In a Ferrari bang, of course, with Charles Leclerc at that moment in second position. Instead it was enough for the Safety Car to return to the pits after 5 laps to remove the cars of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, and the dream was immediately shattered. Leclerc was immediately sucked into Lando Norris’ McLaren. And with him also Carlos Sainz, with the addition of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez to skip the two redheads without mercy. Not that it surprised that much, it was known that the engine gap against Mercedes and Honda at Monza would be felt. But in Monza it hurts more. Not seeing the podium when the two title contenders, for various reasons, are out of action, makes the balance more negative. This year it has only happened twice that at least one of Verstappen and Hamilton did not finish in one of the first two positions, Baku and Monza. And in both cases, Ferrari did not know or simply could not take advantage of it. In Baku also closing behind Aston Martin and AlphaTauri. In a third case, Budapest, with Verstappen out on the first lap and Hamilton at the bottom due to the error of choice of tires, looking to win the Alpine.

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Double not casual

McLaren’s double at Monza is not accidental, the work of the Woking team started in 2018 is progressively bearing fruit. And the icing of the Mercedes engine gave a nice final touch, allowing Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris to take a double win right at the home of their direct rivals for third place in the constructors’ championship. Rivals, namely Ferrari, who did best from 4 races. With yesterday’s 45 points, however, McLaren overtook the Cavallino and recovered third place in the championship.

We do not give up

Mattia Binotto played the charge yesterday, Ferrari does not give up the competition. But in his words there is the admission that the engine problems will not be easily circumvented: “A decent result, which reflects what might have been our expectations on a track that is certainly not favorable to the characteristics of our car. In fact, on these tracks we pay for the lack of speed, which makes us particularly vulnerable in the restarts, as we have seen even today. The race pace was still quite satisfactory, considering the expectations on the eve. Congratulations to McLaren, which after nine years is back to winning: it has regained third place but the season is still long and we will do everything we can to compete for it until the end ”.

Eyes (and developments) on 2022

And then there is Charles Leclerc, who did not hide behind a finger and as a leader tried to look at the glass half full: “I know that the fans are not happy with a fourth place, but if we look at where we are it is a step ahead of last year, it must be recognized ”. The fact is that we have now reached the point of no return of the season, the SF21 will no longer be radically updated because all the efforts are fatally concentrated on the 2022 project. Crucial because, like all the Zero Years in which cars are changed, the foundations will be laid for the next few years and Ferrari absolutely does not want to miss the entry into the new technical era, as happened in 2014 with the turbo hybrid power units. And then, from here to the end of the championship, the fans will probably have to swallow more toads, hoping that on some tracks they will be able to catch the joker, perhaps as Esteban Ocon did at the Hungaroring. Third place in the constructors is there within reach and it would be an undeniable step forward compared to 2020. But it would also be the minimum wage, and without a good 2022 project, a failure.

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World rankings

World rankings after the Italian GP:

1. Verstappen punti 226.5
2. Hamilton 221,5
3. Bottas 141
4. Norris 132
5. Perez 118
6. Leclerc 104
7. Sainz 97,5
8. Ricciardo 83
9. Gasly 66
10. Alonso 50
11. Ocon 45
12. Vettel 35
13. Stroll 24
14. Tsunoda 18
15. Russel 15
16. Latifi 7
17. Raikkonen 2
18. Giovinazzi 1

Builders:

1. Mercedes 362,5
2. Red Bull 344,5
3. McLaren 215
4. Ferrari 201,5
5. Alpine 95
6. AlphaTauri 84
7. Aston Martin 59
8. Williams 22
9. Alfa Romeo 3
10. Haas 0

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