Carlos Sainz in tomorrow's race in Holland he will start from the second row. The Spanish closed the qualifications just 92 thousandths from the poleman's time Max Verstappen. An excellent result, if it weren't for the fact that he will have a rather uncomfortable client at his side: the 7-times world champion Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes it proved to be competitive for the entire weekend, but a mistake by Perez, who crashed on the last lap of Q3, didn't allow us to see the actual value of the W13s, even though they had already shown that they had good pace. The comeback of Ferrari it could get complicated precisely because of the team which in 2022 collected only 1 podium less than the Maranello team.
Ferrari plays two against one
It will take teamwork beyond the performance to attack Max Verstappen's Red Bull and at the same time defend against the attack of the Mercedes and Sergio Perez, perhaps the most harmless of the three but still a worthy rival. Ferrari plays with two points against one but with values very similar to Red Bull and beyond, it cannot afford a drop in attention. “In qualifying we were all three behind by a tenth. If that were the case for 70 laps, it would be a close race. But let us remember that the Mercedes usually seems to find something extra on SundaysSainz said at the end of qualifying in the Netherlands.
Watch out for the Mercedes
In this first phase of the weekend we can say that Ferrari sees the glass as half full. As compared to SPA & WELLNESS he's in great shape but he also has to pay attention to those chasing the podium and who have shown that they can fire up on certain tracks. One of the factors that can compromise the weekend is strategy. With times so close, the pit stop window and tire management can make the difference. “I expect Mercedes to be at least as fast tomorrow as we are – warned the Spaniard – and they will be in the middle during the pit stops. It will be a close fight“. In view of Departure time – as Charles Leclerc also warned – and the #55 is not under any illusions about the possibility of recovering a few positions already in the first lap: “Generally the left side is cleaner on the grid, but this year we have seen little difference between the right and left. Furthermore, the road to get to the first corner is short".
Source statements: FormulaPassion
