Tons of enthusiastic Ferrari followers flooded Lygon Street in Melbourne, identified for its Italian eating places, to have a good time into the early hours of Monday following Carlos Sainz’s surprising victory within the Australian Grand Prix.
The Italian Formula One group hopes to hold this momentum to Suzuka in two weeks, as Albert Park injected new power into the championship.
Sainz and teammate Charles Leclerc’s 1-2 end in Australia narrowed Red Bull’s result in 4 factors in each the drivers’ and constructors’ title races, marking a big shift in momentum after Max Verstappen’s dominant performances within the Middle East.
Ferrari benefited from Verstappen’s race-ending brake subject at Albert Park, which ended Red Bull’s two-year streak of avoiding non-finishes on race day.
Despite their latest losses to Red Bull in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, Ferrari departs Melbourne happy with the efficiency of their SF-24 automobile.
“This weekend is sweet proof that once we are placing the whole lot collectively, and I’m unsure that we’ll be capable of do it each single weekend, we will put (Red Bull) somewhat bit underneath stress,” stated group boss Frederic Vasseur.
“It’s when they are under pressure that they will also have more mistakes. We have to continue in this direction.”
With triple world champion Verstappen topping the rostrum forward of teammate Sergio Perez within the season’s first two races, Red Bull had been blindsided by setup struggles from the get-go in Melbourne.
Red Bull group boss Christian Horner stated the group had not grasped the situations, whereas Ferrari, clearly, had.
“I think the nature of the surface (was a factor), as well. I think that the tyre graining here in particular was something that Ferrari looked in control of,” he stated.
“Certainly from Friday, their long runs looked good.”
Perez, who completed fifth after the ground of his automobile suffered injury, stated Ferrari “absolutely” had the tempo to beat Verstappen had the Dutchman gone the gap.
However, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko was unconvinced.
“I spoke to Max and he said that, despite the problems, he kept up with Sainz’s pace relatively easily,” Marko informed Sky Sport.
“With Max in the race, it would have turned out completely differently.”
Ferrari could not know the place they sit till their subsequent correct duel in opposition to Verstappen, who gained 19 out of twenty-two races final season and will probably be desperate to hit again on the Japanese Grand Prix.
Mercedes, against this, can have little doubt of their place within the pecking order, with Melbourne confirming their also-ran standing.
With no championship factors at Albert Park and their first double DNF since 2018, the Silver Arrows have slumped to fourth within the championship, 71 factors behind main Red Bull.
The free-fall could proceed because the Brackley-based group battle to know the fluky efficiency of their overhauled W15 automobile.
“We haven’t swallowed a dumb pill since 2021. It’s just we don’t understand some of the behaviours of the car,” stated group boss Toto Wolff.
Source: www.dailysabah.com