Ferrari hadn't looked beautiful, surrounded by flowers, in the mirror of numbers for two years. Back then, Charles Leclerc was coming off almost three victories in the first three races and the 'almost' was in that Jeddah GP which ended with a duel at the OK Corral against Verstappen: an alternating series of overtaking in wide open DRS mode, overtaking and counter-overtaking in series for first position. It's a shame that on the very last lap, when it would have been Ferrari's turn to take the lead, a slowdown with yellow flags embalmed the last decisive attack, and the Red Bulla preceded the Red number 16 by a few tenths.
Without that decision by the commissioners, Leclerc would have repeated in photocopy the victory of the previous race in Bahrain, where he led his teammate Sainz in an overwhelming one-two. And he would have filled up waiting for the new success that would arrive 14 days later in Melbourne. Another Ferrari, the one from that beginning: how much did we tell ourselves a year ago in front of the lame steps of the SF-23 so far from the upper floors of the classics? Today, however, after four GPs which do not make up an entire championship but which still mean something, the sensational difference between circuits like Sakhir and Jeddah, like Melbourne and now Suzuka, where last October the Reds took almost a minute in the race, the SF-24s seem to turn into swans and are definitely, calmly and conscientiously the second force on the track behind the RedBull missiles.
Some numbers that, even if they may seem boring, after four races don't lie, they don't create illusions. After these first four GPs, Ferrari already has a victory, or rather a double: Australia, with Sainz ahead of Leclerc. And Charles has 58 points, up 130% compared to 21 a year ago after the same number of races. Carlos, on the other hand, has 55 points today: 25 more than a year ago (+80%) and above all constantly on the podium, one victory and two places, in the only three races in which he raced given that he had an operation in Saudi Arabia on Friday of appendicitis.
And Ferrari? Four races, zero retirements and 120 points, or six-san-ta-no-ve more than last year at this point, i.e. +130%. The Reds' delay in the Constructors' standings is now, again after the first four races, around thirty points, which is how many points they took from Red Bull in 2023 in many, too many individual races.
Enough with the numbers: let's try to see what they mean? All this mathematics tells us first of all about a decidedly more successful single-seater compared to the SF-23. More constant and more easily interpretable by the driver, who in qualifying is much closer if not equal to the Red Bulls. Indeed, it is the Red Bull that counts, that of Verstappen, because Perez is often behind. But above all, much closer (if not even faster, as happened in Melbourne) in race management.
On Sunday in Japan, even with Max and Perez guaranteed by a race lived entirely up front and therefore always in clean air, Carlos climbed onto the podium with only twenty seconds behind the winner: less than half compared to Suzuka 2024. A sign that the recovery is there it was, clearly: and not in a year, in six months.
This is an indisputable technical heritage. And it must be accompanied by a theme that has so far been immune to mistakes on the wall and to outbursts on the part of drivers. Everything went smoothly, every opportunity and potential exploited down to the last gram, as per the Vasseur regulations, another point we were already talking about a month ago.
In short, the SF-24 is going strong and we are already close to the Imola one which will see the introduction on the track of the first package of significant changes. A new bottom and front wing are expected, and there are rumors that something of this renovation could even be previewed in Miami at the beginning of May. Great start, in short. And it could just be the beginning…
#red #flower #FormulaPassion.it
