Since Max Verstappen decided to take up residence on the top step of the podium for all his opponents (with ambitions of victory) a very tough period has begun. In fact, for a year the possibility of winning a Grand Prix has no longer been a question that only involves one's own strength, it also requires that something go wrong at Red Bull.
In the nineteen races won by Verstappen starting from the 2023 Miami Grand Prix, the role of 'first of the rest' was played five times each by Lando Norris and Sergio Perez and three times by Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
But on the only two occasions in which things didn't go as expected for Max, the silhouette of Carlos Sainz appeared behind him, a true sniper in putting together a weekend with a performance of great value just when Max's Red Bull revealed some cracks. The careers of athletes also pass through these crossroads, being at the right time when needed.
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
Photo by: Ferrari
In Sainz's case his 'being there' was authoritarian, an important stamp put on last year in the Singapore Grand Prix and yesterday in Melbourne, victories with a high specific weight that change the balance of a season. For Carlos, who arrived in Melbourne without even the certainty of hitting the track, the Albert Park weekend was probably the most rewarding since he raced in Formula 1.
Leclerc's smile was very different, sketchy but only a little. As is natural for a driver, the awareness of having been able to have a competitive single-seater (good news in perspective) was not enough to mitigate the disappointment of not having got his hands on that victory which has been missing for almost two years. It seems like an adverse scenario, when some gears get stuck in the Red Bull mechanism, Charles finds himself next to a teammate in great form. For Leclerc, just like last year in Singapore, last weekend too the chances of winning the Grand Prix collapsed on Saturday in qualifying.
At Marina Bay it was 79 crucial thousandths of a second behind Sainz that determined his departure from the second row and the consequent unwelcome role of domestique, in Melbourne the hasty choice to intervene significantly on the setup of the car between Q2 and Q3.
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, precedes Max Verstappen, Red Bull RB20 in the Australian GP
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Carlos was very good at putting his teammate under pressure with the best times obtained in Q1 and Q2, two verdicts that convinced Leclerc that he had to change something, a decision that turned out to be a boomerang. After the brilliant debut in red in 2019, Leclerc faced four seasons with a Ferrari almost never fighting for victory, difficult championships in which Charles made use of his talent to give himself some satisfaction, mostly in qualifying.
He often threw his heart over the obstacle, an attitude appreciated by the Scuderia fans, but it is a valid approach when there is nothing to lose, vice versa it is not a method that pays off. If Leclerc had been less hasty in the Melbourne qualifying sessions, he would probably have overtaken Lando Norris on the starting grid and in the race he would have found himself behind Sainz from the first lap, with the (theoretical) possibility of having his say on the first lap too. position. Finding himself behind McLaren meant that he had to change his strategy, a decision that eliminated him from the fight for victory.
Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
In excited moments Leclerc needs the coolness that Sainz has shown to have, otherwise no one who knows how to distinguish a single-seater from a truck dreams of questioning what Leclerc can give to Ferrari and to himself. If the Scuderia manages to put its drivers in a position to fight for success regardless of Red Bull's troubles, Leclerc will no longer have to hope for the perfect combination to find victory, but Charles will be called upon to field a complete package, where talent is a fundamental but not exclusive component.
The double in Melbourne brought back a lot of enthusiasm around the Scuderia, to the point that Vasseur himself was quick to put on the role of fireman after the race to avoid an escalation of expectations. In the general euphoria there are those who have once again questioned the wisdom of Hamilton's choice for 2025.
In the space of two weeks we went from regret at not being able to put Oliver Bearman in the starting role to that of not leaving Sainz in his place, considering Lewis Hamilton's arrival at Maranello an operation based on a lot of marketing and little substance . We also feel this, forgetting that only four months ago Mercedes came second in the Constructors' World Championship (ahead of Ferrari) thanks above all to the performance of the 'boiled' Hamilton, leader among those who were unable to take to the track at the wheel of a Red Bull.
Oliver Bearman, Ferrari
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
The Melbourne race also gave a clear answer to those addicted to hierarchies, lovers of complicated plots inside a garage where a first and a second guide inexorably coexist, always and in any case. The fixed point is that there will never be great serenity between two teammates, on the contrary, often beyond appearances there is a genuine sporting hatred. It's another thing to imagine imaginary scenarios, such as Carlos Sainz being downgraded to a second-driver role at the very moment in which Lewis Hamilton's arrival at Maranello was made official last February.
In Formula 1 the need to dictate internal hierarchies can be a necessity that arises when a team is fighting for a world title, a context in which it is necessary to rally around those who have the best chance of coming out on top.
In the absence of this scenario, the priority is the points in the Constructors' classification, i.e. the ranking that brings bonuses and cash into the teams' coffers. It matters little to the team principals who brings the results, the important thing is to ensure them, and the Melbourne weekend was yet another example of this, as was the Singapore Grand Prix last year. Sainz played his cards as he had the same material and support as Leclerc at his disposal, he was able to do better than his teammate and this made the difference. He is black and white.
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