Last weekend in Mexico, Ferrari realized many things. The first and most obvious, that he is once again late to fight for the title that most engages Formula 1 fans and the general public; that is, that of pilots. The second, that he has before him a unique opportunity to win the title of constructors, which is the one that really matters in the boards of directors, because it is the one that brings the most prestige and money from the corporate point of view. A crown that the Maranello brand has not achieved since 2008, more than 15 years ago, in the days of V8 engines, and that for a couple of months has become a feasible goal for the troops of The Prancing Horse. At the Hermanos Rodríguez circuit, the resounding victory of Carlos Sainz reset Ferrari’s expectations, which arrived in Mexico high after the double achieved in Austin to sign its second consecutive victory, something unprecedented for two years (2022). and that this Sunday he seeks to extend the streak at Interlagos.
Placed fifth in the general table, Sainz is mathematically ruled out from any possibility of winning the drivers’ World Championship. And the 71 points that separate Charles Leclerc from Max Verstappen make it practically impossible for the Monegasque to challenge the Dutchman and Lando Norris, who is second, 47 points behind the current champion and with four grand prix left to be contested. However, while it is true that Leclerc’s individual glory seems more like an illusion than a reality, the brawl between Verstappen and Norris works in favor of the Italian manufacturer, as was proven in Mexico. There, the umpteenth chapter of the skirmishes that they have been maintaining Mad Max and his British colleague created an ideal scenario for Ferrari to take advantage of it: the Red Bull boy’s astracanada eliminated him from the equation – he was penalized with 20 seconds -, favored Sainz to escape and Leclerc to sneak in front of Norris, who in the throes of the race overtook him to cross the finish line second. In any case, the red cars have added 96 points in the last two events, almost double that of McLaren (50 points) and a little less than triple that of Red Bull (37 points). A huge bite that reduced the margin of the Woking (Great Britain) structure over Ferrari to 29 points, who, in turn, has the red buffaloes 25 points behind.
If we take into account the rebound in the performance of the SF-24, combined with the stagnation caused by the slowdown of Red Bull, it would not be strange if Ferrari were in a position to join the battle for the drivers’ title in 2025, unfortunately for bad luck. of Sainz, who by then will already compete in a Williams. “It’s a sweet moment. Because of how the car is going and because of how well I’ve been driving lately, I’m optimistic about the last races,” says the man from Madrid. “At the same time, the aftertaste is a little bittersweet, because it gives me the feeling that Ferrari could fight for the World Cup next year, and I won’t be there to take advantage of it,” anticipates the son of the two-time world rally champion (1990 and 1992).
“As long as you are all focused on Max and Norris, this situation is perfect for us,” argued Fred Vasseur, director of the Scuderiain front of the journalists displaced to Mexico. “You can concentrate on the fight between Toto [Wolff, director de Mercedes] and Christian [Horner, su homólogo en Red Bull]; or in Zak’s [Brown, jefe de McLaren] and Christian; “That as long as we operate under the radar line, that allows us to be completely focused on what we are doing, on the team and on the drivers,” said the French executive, who arrived at Ferrari with a view to 2023 and who, in a year , has marked a new horizon for the most universal symbol of the racing world, which faces the future with the suspicion of being able to assemble a car that aspires to everything and just in time for the arrival of Lewis Hamilton.
