F1 | Ferrari: this is why the Constructors' Championship may not be a mirage

While the teams' engineers are busy drawing indications from the mountain of data obtained from the tests, it is time for evaluations that emerged from the three days of Sakhir. While waiting for the first official rankings, there are estimates and suppositions, sufficient to create an indicative scenario but with unclear contours. However, some aspects are clearer, and remaining in the Red Bull-Ferrari area, they propose distant situations. Let's talk about pilots. On paper, Red Bull should have been in a better position, given that Ferrari, after Lewis Hamilton's announcement, is preparing to contest an entire championship with a driver already aware of having to say goodbye to everyone at the end of the season.

From what we saw in the three days of testing, however, it seems exactly the opposite. One of the good news that the tests brought to the Scuderia's garage is the neutral behavior of the car, the SF-24 goes well with the driving style of both Sainz and Leclerc. A sigh of relief for the engineers, given that the 2022 season (which started with excellent results) also saw Sainz in difficulty and forced to adapt his driving to the F1-75, an aspect that affected him quite a bit in the first third of the season . Being able to count on a neutral single-seater will allow Ferrari to start without critical issues related to the adaptation of one of its drivers. All energies will be focused on fine-tuning.

The scenario is very different in the Red Bull garage. Verstappen is always him, impressive in his speed both in terms of performance and adaptation, and practically a cyberman in his consistency of performance. Perez's world is another world, in his hands the RB20 becomes a good car and nothing more, a script already seen last year. The hope of finding a 'Checo' capable of resetting everything during the winter and restarting for a new season with a new single-seater, remained so. On Thursday evening the Mexican walked slowly between the hospitality and the garage with a gloomy face and a slow pace.

“He needs to get Max out of his head and manage his own program,” confirmed Helmut Marko, a few words that say a lot. When a Red Bull driver finds himself in difficulty he swims in very dangerous waters, because in addition to the specific problems there is also the fear of Marko's now famous 'swap', or the invitation to take a seat in Racing Bulls to make room to the promoted person on duty. Furthermore, Perez's contract is expiring, and this will also force him to move on the market (there are those who are already doing it for him) to evaluate alternative proposals.

If the first races of the season show a better Perez than the one seen in the tests (six tenths per lap his delay from Max) the problem could return. Conversely, even in the economy of the season, a 'Checo' very far from Max could be a problem for the team's objectives. Last year Verstappen alone was enough for Red Bull to conquer the Constructors' World Championship, given that the 575 points won by the Dutch far exceeded the final tally of Mercedes (409) and Ferrari (406).

However, it is not certain that (however good) the RB20 will be at the same level as the single-seater that preceded it. If, as it seems, Ferrari is currently 3 tenths behind, with Mercedes in turn in its wake, Red Bull could need a good haul of points from the second driver too. Ferrari seems to have more certainty about the performance of its tandem. After receiving the dismissal, Sainz found himself at a crossroads: get depressed and prepare for a season as a divorcee at home, or try to confirm on the field who he is and what he can do. From what we saw in Bahrain he seems to have decidedly taken the second path, and beyond the group's objectives, for Carlos the 2024 season could be a calling card to show to those who rely on him in the future.