A pole, a podium and third place in the constructors’ championship. This is the loot with which Ferrari comes out of Monza in an undoubtedly special weekend for the Maranello team, which finds its fans and an important part of its history here.
The Reds can’t say that they didn’t try, passing the first part of the race with their eyes fixed on the mirrors, to that Max Verstappen who on several occasions tried to put pressure on the poleman and look for the right moment to attempt the overtaking that would have paved the way to victory. The opportunity presented itself following a blocking by Sainz at the first braking point, which opened the doors to the definitive maneuver in turn four, thus giving the Dutchman the chance to immediately put a safety gap to let the two SF- 23 from the wake.
Having lost the Verstappen train, the two Ferraristi then attempted to defend Sergio Perez, even if the Mexican eventually got the better of him by overtaking on the straight. As long as Leclerc had the opportunity to take advantage of the slipstream and mobile wing behind his teammate, the strategy allowed the Monegasque to defend himself, sometimes even harshly as happened at the Roggia, but when this element failed, there was very little the Ferrarista could do to stem the other Red Bull.
Red Bull Trophy delegate, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing, 2nd position, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari, 3rd position, on the podium
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
“Overall it was a good weekend, we had pace from FP1, we took pole, we fought with the Red Bulls throughout the race. One car is on the podium and the other is in fourth position, which is overall a good result. I’m proud of the work done by the team and I’m happy for the fans,” explained Frederic Vasseur during the interviews, underlining the good work done by the team even before the weekend. Beyond the problems encountered by Leclerc on Friday, a set-up was immediately found with Sainz that gave the desired benefits, an element that Ferrari wanted to underline by underlining that it had understood the car best on low-load tracks such as the Italian one.
“We weren’t that far away from thinking we could keep Perez behind, but that’s how it went, it was very difficult because their pace was better than ours. The next step is to be more competitive even on high-load tracks, let’s see in two weeks. But we have to see Monza as a step forward,” added the Team Principal when asked if Ferrari could do something more in terms of the final result.
Ferrari undoubtedly performed well on one of the most congenial tracks of the season to the characteristics of the SF-23, which allowed it to be second force of the weekend with a certain ease: “It’s due to everything in the end. We are certainly in a little better condition on this type of track and probably the fans also pushed us by giving us something extra! Surely it will be another story in two weeks in Singapore, but after Zandvoort we understood the situation better. We hope to be able to take a step forward on those tracks as well.”
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-23, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
After losing second place to Perez, the two Ferraristi battled for last place. The Maranello team did not impose team orders, leaving the two drivers the opportunity to compete for position on the track, even if they clearly indicated to both not to take excessive risks, despite the fact that some maneuvers were then seen at the limit. “I shook a little” – said Vasseur smiling -. “In general I’m a fan of letting them duel, I told them they could fight but not take any risks.”
Finally, the Team Principal also praised Sainz’s growth during the season, who had shown evident difficulties at the beginning of the year, especially in qualifying. His first podium of the year arrived at Monza at the end of a weekend in which he proved to be fast right from the start, immediately finding confidence in the car: “I think he took a big step forward even from the start of the weekend, it was fast in FP1 and FP2, he took pole in qualifying. He has improved a lot since the beginning of the season, we hope he can do the same in the second part of the season as well”.
#Vasseur #Sainz #Leclerc #trembled