Sportblog | The Guardian — Ferrari RSS



Hard racing not hard to call: Vettel’s Canadian GP win should have stood | Richard Williams

F1 connoisseurs were virtually unanimous in their views over the penalty that not only robbed Sebastian Vettel in Canada but also ruined a classic finish between the world’s best two driversAs a simmering Sebastian Vettel stalked into the room where the top three drivers in a grand prix wipe away their sweat and prepare to mount the podium, the only vacant seat was one under a large portrait of another Ferrari driver, a hero of the past. As well as being the man who gave his name to the circuit on which the Canadian Grand Prix had just been held, Gilles Villeneuve remains a symbol of motor racing at its most daring and flamboyant.Villeneuve was killed in 1982, halfway through...

Continue reading



Ferrari face reality while McLaren’s progress is starting to be noted | Giles Richards

Scuderia admit risks need to be taken in Montreal, it’s looking good for Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc’s season is becoming a fast track of learning experiencesMercedes came within a whisker of losing a win that was in their hands in Monaco. Having put Lewis Hamilton on the medium tyres, the team principal, Toto Wolff, admitted the British driver had saved their race in bringing his car home and preventing Max Verstappen having a chance to pass. It was welcome for giving the race a tense climax that would otherwise have been lacking. Hamilton was vocal about his concerns throughout, which have been criticised but are the understandable complaining of a driver in a pressure situation he could do nothing...

Continue reading



Charles Leclerc forces new dynamic to give Ferrari a team orders headache

F1 driver has proved competitive from the off and before Baku, the Scuderia must be considering whether he is the better betFew would have thought the spectre of team orders would loom over the new Formula One season so soon. Yes, Ferrari had been honest in saying they would favour Sebastian Vettel over his teammate Charles Leclerc in 50-50 situations but after three races where they have employed team orders in every one, it seems the Scuderia have been taken aback that Leclerc’s performances have forced them into dictating to their drivers quite so soon. Managing them on track is one issue the Scuderia must handle but as they head to Baku for this week’s race, they must now also...

Continue reading



Mattia Binotto embarks on marathon sprint to get Ferrari back on track | Richard Williams

Swiss has a complex task as team principal – ending the Mercedes stranglehold while F1 faces environmental concernsWith his shock of dark hair and his round black-framed spectacles, Mattia Binotto looks as though he might have taken his masters degree at the University of Modena in the theories of the Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci rather than motor vehicle technology. But it is the 49-year-old engineer whose success or failure in a new role is likely to define Formula One’s short-term bid to preserve its credibility as it begins its 70th season in Melbourne on Sunday.In a world increasingly aware of climate change, the sport is engaged in a bout of introspection. Does an intrinsically frivolous exercise that so flagrantly depends...

Continue reading



Only one conclusion to draw from F1 2019 testing: advantage Ferrari | Giles Richards

Ferrari lead the field, Red Bull-Honda are showing promise and the midfield scrap looks set to be even more hotly contestedThat Ferrari have a good, potentially great, car this year was clear by the end of the first day of testing when Sebastian Vettel was positively purring at how the SF90 had performed. By the end of day eight, his optimism had been entirely justified and they must be considered favourites going into the first race in Melbourne on 17 March. Definitive judgments from testing are dangerous but the Scuderia’s form is impossible to ignore. Vettel set the fastest lap, with a time of 1min 16.221sec. They completed 997 laps in total, second only to Mercedes, while their engines look...

Continue reading