On Thursday, but also on Friday, many expected that Ferrari – after the triumph in Monte Carlo – could stay ahead of Verstappen’s Red Bull. And this really happened in the race, on the 35th lap, halfway through the race. Except that at that moment Charles was about to be lapped. In this incredible moment there is all the drama of the Reds in Canada who have suffered all kinds of problems, especially for the Monegasque, tormented by the pits due to endless adjustments to be made on the steering wheel.
However, the red hell seemed far away at the start: we started in the rain, everyone on intermediate tyres. An ideal situation for a comeback, given among other things the extraordinary driving characteristics of the two Ferrari drivers on a wet track. But the first twist comes immediately. Leclerc and Sainz don’t fly. Only the Haas did it and in a couple of laps they all came back as they risked starting on rain tyres.
At the top of the race at that moment Russel is in the lead, Verstappen is on top of him and doesn’t overtake him only because the dry line is very narrow. And with the intermediate tires half worn (therefore almost slick) it is impossible to overtake. But it is immediately clear that the Ferraris are not in the game.
Then on the 17th Verstappen makes a mistake, goes wide, loses contact with Russel and finds Norris on top of him and passes him on the 20th lap. But the rain is looming, at that moment they say that in nine minutes it will be a flood. But the sun is out in the sky… You have to resist with the tires you have. The Ferraris are at the back, but other twists can make the difference. And this time too, nothing.
Norris is furious at that moment, he immediately attacks Russel. And on lap 21 he passes him and takes the lead. Russel goes long in the fight and is also overtaken by Verstappen. From first to third in a couple of corners.
And on lap 25 another twist Sargeant turns around, he was last, the car remains in the middle of the switched off track. The Safety car comes in, there are a few minutes left before the rain forecast, the sky is black. Verstappen, Russel and Piastri rushed to the pits and put on new intermediates. Norris makes a mistake, delays entering the pits and Verstappen finds himself in the lead, with Russel behind.
In this delirium, Ferrari plays the desperate card on lap 29, Leclerc enters the pits with the Safety car still on the track and puts on slicks with a flood forecast. Is this the right time? Nope: the Safety car goes away and the race restarts. But it starts to rain. Leclerc immediately goes long. A race to forget. After two laps he is forced to return to the pits and put the intermediates back on. Last, with a gap of more than a minute from 18th. Then the track dries out again, but nothing changes for the Ferraris: on lap 43 Sainz is thirteenth, Leclerc is last, 43 seconds behind Gasly. Too. Charles enters the pits and retires.
Meanwhile, to add insult to injury, at that moment in addition to the stellar Verstappen, Leclerc watches the Mercedes and McLarens flying from the pits. And in fact the lap after his retirement Hamilton took the gamble first. He puts on slicks, yellow tyres, Sainz follows him closely. Another gamble, will it work this time? Nothing to be done: two laps later they all stop and cancel out the microscopic advantage.
On lap 48, however, the race heats up: after the pit stop Verstappen is in the lead, while Norris finds himself glued to the wing. And then by Russel and Piastri train. A show.
And here is the last freezing shower for the Ferrari drivers: on lap 53 Sainz spins alone, damaging the rear wing, also involving Albon who remains in the middle of the track. He apologizes in the pits, then he also retires. Goodbye race. Not even the many twists, gambles and counter-current choices save the Ferraris.
But the problems for Maranello don’t end here: in addition to yet another demonstration of strength from Red Bull, there is the (known) problem of the competitiveness of the McLarens and the (new) problem of the return of the Mercedes. The duel in the final laps between the silver arrows and the orange cars was unthinkable until a few days ago. Nevertheless…
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