More reliability. Which, at least at the beginning of the championship, it seemed to be the extra weapon for Ferrari, ultimately proves to be the Achilles heel of Maranello stable. So it hurts, considering that on the other side, at home Red Bull, know how to take advantage of these gifts very well.
Red Bull triumph
In Baku vince Max Verstappen. The Dutch driver finishes ahead of teammate Sergio Perez and the Mercedes by George Russell. Obviously, Ferrari is missing from the list. The two Reds, of Leclerc and Sainz, are classified as withdrawn. Others points lost. And these, combined with those of Barcelona, weigh like a boulder.
Leclerc knocked out again
The peculiarity in this circumstance is that Ferrari during this weekend had not shown itself, as in Monaco and Barcelona, the strongest car of all. The challenge with Red Bull was very open. But the victory could have been brought home, especially if you consider that Leclerc was in first position. The Monegasque was the author, up to that point, of an incredible weekend, collected by the extraordinary pole on Saturday. Once again though, the engine stopped the race on the 16th and the hearts of the Ferrari fans: “I don't want to say too much because I can't find the right words. Obviously it hurts. The competitiveness has been there for three races but we don't have the final result". The message from Charles, in the post-race, which allows us to fully understand his state of mind.
Binotto: “Reliability is now a problem”
Potentially, even if there was still a Grand Prix to go, Ferrari with Leclerc lost almost 50 points. In such a world championship, such a figure is unacceptable. There's really a lot to work on for the Red, in particular on reliability... the problem that perhaps no one expected but which from now on, binotto first of all, everyone knows. “It is obvious that the topic of reliability is on everyone's lips. Today we had two retirements which penalized us a lot in terms of the progress of the race. Charles was in the lead thanks to a good strategic choice by the team – said the team principal of the Red team after the race – demonstrating that sometimes you can guess differently than others".
“I have to admit that reliability is a concern. At the beginning of the season we weren't excited just as we aren't discouraged today. We know there is a lot of work to do. The increase in performance on the power unit compared to last year was enormous and evidently we are paying for it with reliability that is not 100%".
Total problem
Baku represents a watershed race for the entire Ferrari group, also considering the withdrawal of Zhou (due to a hydraulic problem) and Magnussen, again linked to the Ferrari power unit.
“The cases must be seen one by one. The problems we had today are not all related to the power unit. I believe that at least one of the two that happened to our customer teams is not linked to a Ferrari product, but it is certain that we have to look at everything. Reliability must be considered 360 degrees, not just in relation to the engine. To win, reliability must be perfect and we're not there yet."
Time for reflections
And now? What's now? Clearly, as Binotto states, we need to start again. Two retirements won't stop Ferrari, but Maranello must also start thinking about the team's real objectives. Red Bull risks running away in both world championships, drivers and constructors, which one therefore makes the most sense to focus on? Perhaps for the Ferrari fans, and for Leclerc, the answer would be easy. Who knows if the same is true in Maranello...
