Scuderia Ferrari have problems to solve, and fast, after a double DNF at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Carlos Sainz Jr retired from fourth after suffering a hydraulic fault, whereas Charles Leclerc suffered yet another power unit failure whilst in the lead.
As a result of their diabolical Sunday afternoon at the Baku City Circuit, Ferrari now find themselves eighty points behind Oracle Red Bull Racing; only thirty-eight points ahead of the underperforming Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team.
Leclerc has now suffered two power unit failures in the last three races, both whilst leading the race. It has seen the Monegasque driver slip further behind Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ championship, putting further pressure on the Ferrari driver’s shoulders. To make matters worse for Ferrari, out of the five cars to retire from the race, four of them were Ferrari-powered cars.
Team Principal Mattia Binotto reflected on the bad day, and admitted that plenty of work is needed ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix.
“This is undoubtedly a bad day. Compared to last year, we have made great progress in terms of performance, however there is definitely still room for improvement on the reliability front. In a week’s time we will be in Canada where we will aim to make up for this. Before then, we will analyse the failures we experienced here and will try to manage them until we can get on top of them. There is definitely still work to do.”
