F1 | Ferrari at Suzuka to confirm itself as second force after Red Bull

Ferrari goes to Suzuka aware that the Japanese GP will be Red Bull's theoretical hunting ground. The team from Milton Keynes, on Honda's home track, will try to react to the Scuderia's double in Australia by trying to cancel Max Verstappen's retirement at Albert Park.

As Fred Vasseur had the opportunity to explain on TG1, no important technical innovations will be seen on the red while awaiting the package of updates that the technicians directed by Enrico Cardile will bring to Imola, for the first European race on the calendar. There had been an attempt to bring forward some elements of the fund to the Japanese appointment, but the need to have at least two specimens plus an escort advised the Cavallino staff not to anticipate the times, trusting in the idea that there is still a way to fully understand the characteristics of the SF-24.

Ferrari, therefore, will try to confirm itself as the second force in the championship, trying to keep McLaren, Mercedes and Aston Martin at a distance. In particular, the Woking car is feared at Suzuka because it could be competitive in the snake and in the long support bends that make the Japanese track one of the most loved by drivers after Spa-Francorchamps.

Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc have drawn positive indications from the preparation of the fourth world championship round: the hope is to limit the gap from the Red Bulls and perhaps be able to put a red car on the front row, next to Max Verstappen's usual RB20, but the forecasts on the paper are certainly less optimistic than they were before Australia.

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari

Photo by: Ferrari

The success in Oceania has given great motivation within the Cavallino staff: in Sports Management there is the awareness of not having the best car of the lot at the moment (they are awaiting with curiosity the changes scheduled for the Made in Italy GP and Emilia Romagna), but there is the hope of confirming limited tire wear on a very selective tire system (Pirelli has chosen the three hardest compounds).

The weather forecast calls for cloudy skies and low temperatures (6 degrees minimum and 19 degrees maximum) so the difficulty will be to get the tires into the right operating window.

Suzuka is a track that requires a medium load, so the rear wing seen in the first three rounds should be well suited.