What’s wrong with Ferrari?

In the test Barcelona Since February of last year you have already noticed the fear. “The car is going very well. There is only one question. When the engine is fully throttled, the engine can become fragile.”, I said to this newspaper from the paddock. However, the beginning of the season seemed rosy to Ferrari. They started with the fastest and most reliable car with the least tire deterioration. And their main rival, Red Bull, appeared to be in the deep sea after several withdrawals. Verstappen He retired in two of the first three races, and Perez retired in one of them.But from Imola, Everything has changed. At that time, we warned him: it looked very good for Leclerc and Ferrari, but there were three important questions that remained unanswered:Can Ferrari fight Red Bull in a year-round car development race? Was Ferrari able to maintain its reliability when the engine was squeezed? Can Ferrari hold itself when things get tougher against Red Bull regarding strategy and decisions in the race?

The answers to these three questions will determine the title of his side or Red Bull. In Australia, Ferrari and Leclerc seemed invincible. And now, just after five races, the Maranello team can’t stop the growth of the dwarfs.

Total rollover

After the appointment of Melbourne, Leclerc He led the World Cup with a 34-point advantage over second-placed George Russell. His advantage over Perez was 41 points and his advantage over Verstappen was 46 points. After only 5 races Verstappen Lead world And Perez is second, the Dutch get 34 points from Charles.. Red Bull turned the table.

Evolution of the car

All this after Red Bull presented some significant improvements in Imola. After he improved the car’s aerodynamics and realized that the problems that affected him were related to the petrol system, they found a retreat, resolved it, and showed the champion’s reaction. Since then, Red Bull has been straightforward and scary, as well as being able to win in places that are theoretically advantageous to Ferrari, such as Emilia Romagna.

Ferrari responded with its first major upgrade package in Barcelona, ​​where the two cars seemed to be a close match, but Red Bull showed again a good pace in Baku and less tire deterioration. For now, Red Bull may have won the evolutionary race, but Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto said that if Milton Keynes continued to make so many improvements, it could reach the budget limit. I have already stated that I do not think. We need to see if Red Bull needs to suspend development so it doesn’t exceed its budget, and if Ferrari has room for improvement compared to its rivals in the rest of the course.

Engine: From Red Bull issues to Ferrari issues

As the race progressed, the team needed to raise the bar on the engine. And it was there that the Italians began to sink.

of Barcelona, Leclerc broke the engine when he was in the lead, and as the engine was analyzed this Tuesday in Baku, there was another failure that hasn’t been answered yet. In Barcelona, ​​they damaged the turbo, MGU-H, This meant that Ferrari had to use the third unit of these elements in Monaco, thus reaching the annual limit.Because it is necessary to reassemble new elements in Canada, Charles penalizes the grid.On the other hand, the situation is in contrast Red bullParticipated in the first 7 races with the same engine and rode second in Baku.

And worst of all, reliability issues are also affecting client computers. This shows that retreat is important. boots Y state (Alfa Romeo) There was already a problem in Barcelona, ​​but there was a different breakdown than Leclerc.And in MonacoValtteri Bottas He missed almost all of the first practice session due to Ferrari power unit issues, and the reliability of the race engine was affected. Magnussen, Withdrew from Baku due to another engine accident.In fact, Haas’s boss Guenther SteinerHe later guaranteed Monaco GP The reliability of the Ferrari engine was “a little big concern”.

Ferrari, like all motorcyclists, chose to choose the most horses for the next four years, before the engine freezes at the beginning of March. Because of this, all motorcyclists thought it could be frustrating. Red Bull had them, but they quickly resolved them. Now Ferrari has to do the same to show the responsiveness that the champion needs.The FIA It only allows the evolution of the engine due to reliability issues, which can also indirectly improve the performance and speed of the power unit.A few days ago, Ferrari Silverstone A step forward in engine hybrid systems that should give reliability and power that would be allowed despite engine freezes due to regulations.

Last question

In addition to this, there is the question I pointed out earlier. Can Ferrari maintain its level when things get tougher against Red Bull when it comes to strategy, pit stops and race decisions? The Monaco Grand Prix was a clear example of how Ferrari must continue to make progress in order not to make mistakes in the wall that sacrifices points.

Red bull It was a team that could beat Verstappen To the best group of history, Mercedes.. So if Ferrari wants to join the ring with the energy drink guys after a few rounds without getting a KO, he has to do everything perfectly.