While the hospitality areas in the Spa paddock were already being attacked by the dismantling workers, George Russell’s disqualification from the Belgian Grand Prix was made official. All this while Fred Vasseur, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc were having a farewell before the summer break.
The race standings without Russell’s Mercedes significantly changes Ferrari’s outlook at the end of the Spa weekend. Suddenly Leclerc is on the podium, just as suddenly Ferrari limits the stage deficit against Mercedes to 2 points, bringing the gap back to 79 points after having dropped (for two hours) to 56.
At the end of the race, Leclerc was anything but positive in his comments on the performance. “What happened? Very simple,” he commented, “we were not fast enough, I would say the fourth force. We expected McLaren and Red Bull but Mercedes was faster than expected. In a normal race, on a dry track, it is very difficult to keep them behind on a track like this. We did a good job to keep Max and Lando behind at the end, but fourth place was the maximum we could have achieved today.”
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Russell’s disqualification may have changed Leclerc’s mood a bit, but Charles’ vision is clear. Ferrari remains at the foot of the podium even when the values on the field change, and this seems to be a reason for nervousness. “If there had been a Red Bull in front then I would have seen this weekend as positive,” Charles admitted, “but since Mercedes is in front, well, we thought we were on par with them and instead we saw that they have a good advantage. So I don’t consider this result very positive.” Mercedes with the old floor finds itself with a missile in its hands, Ferrari with the new one doesn’t. It’s doing okay, but not as well as its drivers would like.
Considering the premises of the Spa trip, a third and a sixth position for Ferrari is a loot that allows them to stay afloat tonight, but above all the disappointment effect weighs a bit on Leclerc. After starting from pole position, Charles immediately gave in to Hamilton’s assault, but remained attached to the Mercedes for a long part of the race. The frustration increased when in the last stint he saw Lewis move away and Piastri become increasingly larger in the mirrors, until he was overtaken by McLaren on the thirty-sixth lap.
Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal Scuderia Ferrari
Photo by: Ferrari
At that point Leclerc seemed an easy target even for the Verstappen-Norris duo, but Charles gritted his teeth, managing to hold onto the position until the checkered flag. “In terms of pure performance this race was good for us – commented Frederic Vasseur – we were all surprised by the very low degradation of the Hards and on the contrary the very high one of the Mediums”. An advantage that on paper Sainz could have exploited more, but Carlos (who started on the hards) after about fifteen laps began to suffer a drop in performance that strengthened the plan with two stops.
“Our overall pace was good and today we managed to finish ahead of the two Red Bulls and a McLaren,” Vasseur concluded, “which on a track like Spa-Francorchamps is not that bad for us. I think we made progress in terms of performance this weekend but we are still one or two tenths away from being able to fight for the win again.” The Scuderia’s team principal sees the glass half full, as is right for the role he holds. Leclerc a little less so, he sees many different winners alternating on the top step of the podium but for various reasons Ferrari’s turn never seems to come. And this is starting to weigh on Charles.
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