✍️  Divyansh Kumar

🗓️ March 20, 2023

Ferrari continues to disappoint its fans after a poor show in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The has proven that Scuderia lacks ‘race pace’ and is not even deemed to be the second fastest this season. Charles Leclerc loses his cool at his engineer over miscommunication in strategy. The Scuderia need to work more on their strategy and car this season if they even want to be in the top three of the constructor’s championship. Let us look at what went wrong for the Scuderia. 

Despite Charles Leclerc putting the scarlet red machine in second place during qualifying. A grid penalty from the previous race resulted in his drop to 12th place. As a result, he was only able to climb up to seventh place by the end of the race. On the other hand, Carlos Sainz had a comparatively slow weekend in terms of pace but was able to finish in sixth place due to his higher starting position. 

During the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc expressed his frustration with Ferrari once again. The Monegasque driver finished in seventh place in a thrilling race at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Where Fernando Alonso was eventually reinstated to the podium after an appeal from Aston Martin.

Where Ferrari was finding it difficult to maintain themselves in the top 10. The RedBull driver and two-time world champion Max Verstappen were sublime to watch as he finished 2nd and on the podium after starting at 15th in the grid due to driveshaft damage in the qualifying. 

After only two races of the Formula 1 season, the result has left Leclerc 38 points behind Max Verstappen. During the race, the 25-year-old driver became particularly frustrated with his race engineer, Xavier Marcos Padros. Due to a breakdown in communication over strategy, which has been an ongoing issue for the Scuderia team. 

In the Jeddah race

Carlos Sainz finished in sixth place. Around 36 seconds behind the winner Sergio Perez of Red Bull.

Sainz’s teammate Charles Leclerc, who had to start 10 places lower due to a grid penalty, finished just behind him in seventh place. Leclerc received the penalty for a control electronics unit change following his retirement in the Bahrain season opener. While Sainz finished fourth in that race despite Ferrari struggling with their tires.

Initially, the team attributed the tire degradation issue to the abrasive Bahrain circuit. However, in the final stint of the Saudi Arabian race. Both Ferrari drivers struggled to move forward on hard tires, leading Sainz to believe that there is a more fundamental pace deficit with the SF-23 car. 

The timing of the safety car was unfortunate for Ferrari, as it allowed Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton to benefit. However, once the race restarted, Ferrari was unable to keep up with the pace of the Silver Arrows. 

After Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Despite a disappointing outcome at the Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Frederic Vasseur the team principal remains adamant in his belief that Ferrari has made progress.

When asked by the media, Frederic Vasseur stated that he is not focusing on himself, but rather on the team and how to improve their situation.

Vasseur believes that the team should stick with the car, as he does not see any major issues with it. He acknowledged that the team had made some positive improvements from the previous race in Bahrain, and emphasized the importance of working together on the details.

According to Vasseur, the main issue the team faced during the race was the lack of pace.

Well, I think the Tifosi around the world are not happy with how the team is performing currently. Ferrari is considered F1 heritage but it has been a long that the Scuderia have been facing problems on one or the other end.

This season seems to be slipping away from the hands of Leclerc and Ferrari, but it might just be too early to count them out of the contest. 

Hoping the team gets its disputes and errors in order and comes up with a better performance at the Australian GP. Well, that’s a wrap folk! Hope you enjoyed reading it! It’s now time for “Lights Out ! and Away we go!”

Read more about Formula One and to know more about career in sports visit ISM GLOBE.