Mistakes and bad luck for Leclerc and Sainz at Imola Ferrari disappoints and Verstappen celebrates

The Spaniard out on the first lap touched by Ricciardo while the French finished sixth after a spin when he was third

SENT TO IMOLA

The two Red Bulls parade in front of the Imola crowd. The party is over: with a well-deserved and painful double for the 130,000 spectators, the red wave that filled the racetrack over the weekend to see the Ferrari come back great, Verstappen and Perez wanted to leave a mark of their passage. Ferrari comes out defeated due to errors and bad luck, and not downsized. The championship is confirmed as an amusing dualism between the two teams who alternate on the first step of the podium and give a show, but this spectacle is not at all consoling, especially when re-reading the declarations on the eve: Ferrari was convinced that it was stronger on the asphalt friend of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Mattia Binotto, the team principal, had said so and the drivers believed it: the characteristics of the circuit were considered favorable to F1-75.

The breaking latest news says more. Verstappen and Perez at the start are two lightning bolts, while Leclerc makes the tires skid in the wet and Sainz ends up in the sand at the first variant after being touched by Ricciardo. In half a minute the race is compromised. Leclerc would have time to recover, not performance. As in Australia, he is alone in fighting the rival couple, but this time he is less inspired. He tries to overtake Perez, but without the moving wing (prohibited until lap 48 because the track was wet) he can’t. A last tire change does not have any positive effects, on the contrary: Leclerc sets out in search of second place and ends up exaggerating, as he himself explains: “I put too much car on the curb and I skidded”. From third that he was him, he will finish sixth.

Did you do well to try? Would she have done better to be satisfied? “Pushing to the maximum is in the spirit of a driver,” says Binotto. The lesson is another: Ferrari and its top driver squandered much of the lead they had accumulated in the first three Grands Prix in one weekend. Verstappen is 27 points behind the Monegasque driver, Red Bull climbs to minus 11 from Ferrari. In a long and balanced championship that could be decided for a handful of points, it is important to learn the lessons of the masters (Lauda, ​​Prost, but also Scheckter with their titles built with one placement at a time).

In Maranello they are already working on a rematch. For the Formula 1 debut in Miami scheduled for May 8, Ferrari will bring a more efficient rear wing and a new aerodynamic package. «We will also work on the hopping that continues to detract from our performance. Then we will arrive in Spain with more significant news », promises Binotto.

While Sainz forgives Ricciardo for the contact at the start that put him out of the game (“it can happen to anyone”), Leclerc tries to get a reason for the spin: “This season – says the Monegasque who remains leader of the World Championship – I drove very well from the first race until the mistake that cost me 7 points compared to the third place that was within my reach if I was satisfied. The mistake was my responsibility alone. There is no excuse, I was asking too much. I’m really disappointed and sorry for the whole team who did a great job and for our fans ».

Binotto hugs him and consoles him: «I ordered the team to smile – cut short -. It will not be a bad weekend to ruin what we have done so far ». –

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