Formula 1

Scuderia Ferrari leave Imola with a strong feeling of motivation

3 Mins read
Image Credit : Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow Press Office

Both qualifying and the race of the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix left the Scuderia Ferrari Team with a feeling of what could have been? Charles Leclerc was overtaken by Lando Norris at the safety car restart which ultimately lost him a podium position and Carlos Sainz Jr. took a trip off the track during the changeable conditions.

Leclerc felt that it was a frustrating race full of incidents, the Monegasque driver was in a really good place before the red flag caused by Valtteri Bottas’s collision with George Russell and this wiped out any advantage that had been built up.

“It was an interesting race, although a bit frustrating, because I was in a really good place before the red flag which wiped out the advantage we had built up in the first part of the race.”

Sadly for Leclerc after the restart the SF21 is vulnerable in the straights so this made it difficult to fight Lando Norris on the run down into turn 1. Ferrari had taken a bit of a gamble to be quicker in the wet but once the track dried out it was more tricky in the second part of the race.

“Unfortunately, I struggled after the restart, since I was vulnerable in the straights and that made it difficult to fight or defend from others. In fact we had taken a bit of a gamble with some more downforce, which helped us in the rain, but made it more difficult for us when it was dry in the second part of the race.”

Ultimately Leclerc comes away from the weekend very happy with his overall performance and there is a lot of motivation from the team as there is clear progression within the team and if this is kept up the former Formula-2 champion is sure that it will not be long before we see the famous Red cars back at the front of the grid.

“Overall, I’m very happy with the performance we had today. There is definitely a lot of motivation. We are fighting for more interesting positions now and this is positive. We have been working well and if we keep it up, I’m sure that we will be fighting for the top places soon.

“My pace was very strong in the wet and also very solid in the dry, so I’m happy with that” – Carlos Sainz

Image Credit : Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow Press Office

After some ventures off the track Carlos Sainz can be very pleased with a fifth place finish, keeping the constructors championship battle between the McLaren F1 Team and themselves very much alive.

Sainz felt that it was a very solid race, the conditions at the start being very hard to manage for all the drivers with the poor visibility but the Spaniard braved the conditions and managed to make up a lot of positions after the race start. This was his first time in the wet in the SF21 so it was a steep learning curve and taking these afore mentioned risks paid off despite losing some positions due to a couple of lost positions.

That was a very solid race today. The conditions at the start were very tricky, with very poor visibility, but I went for it and managed to make up quite a lot of positions after the start. This was the second race and my first time in the wet with the car, which was an unknown situation for me, but taking risks and finding the limit paid off, despite losing race time with a couple of mistakes here and there.”

Sainz felt that his pace was very strong in both the wet and the dry so this is very pleasing for Sainz who felt relatively comfortable throughout the race and to make up six positions is a great result. From now on it is important for the Spaniard to keep working keep his head down and working on this trajectory that he is currently on as this is the right one.

My pace was very strong in the wet and also very solid in the dry, so I’m happy with that. I was quite comfortable all along, and starting eleventh with a fifth place finish is encouraging. I just need to keep my head down and continue working in this direction, because I think it’s the correct one.

Collecting a good haul of points from both cars was a brilliant result for the team and keeps the hopes alive for a third constructors championship finish.

“Collecting solid points today was definitely good for the team and I am very pleased with the double points finish.

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