Ferrari’s ticking time bomb… By Joe Man. Edited by Joe Murphy.
With their car launch a matter of days away, many people ‘in the know’ within Formula 1, feel this season will see a resurgent Ferrari. After a series of nightmare campaigns, the Italian giants look set to roar again. We won’t know for sure until all the cars are fired up for testing, but there is every chance of a mean red machine emerging for 2022, ready to take on the best. Ferrari have two incredibly fine young drivers and could arguably have the best pairing on the grid. Out of all the teams last year, their drivers were the closest in terms of points, with Carlos Sainz getting to grips with his move to Ferrari almost immediately and edging ahead of teammate Leclerc! This is where I believe they may have a problem. When you look at all the other potential constructor contenders, the case could be made that you should be a natural number one driver. Red Bull will have Max Verstappen, Mercedes will have Lewis Hamilton, albeit with a new team mate George Russell. McLaren will likely be slightly behind the front three, and drive as a team to maximise points.
Ferrari have two very quick, young and ambitious drivers. We have seen just how talented the Monaco born driver is, when Leclerc’s fight with Sebastian Vettel in his debut season. It seemed Leclerc and Vettel remained friends throughout despite seemingly being unable to staying away from each other on track. We learned from the experience that Charles Leclerc is not one for backing down. If we see Ferrari come out with a car that has the potential to compete, a then expect more fireworks and competitiveness. If, however, they have made a genuine title winning car, then I see trouble ahead. Firstly, Ferrari don’t tend to deal well when things go wrong. During the Vettel-Leclerc dramas of 2019, it seemed the senior management dealt with it by simply turning on Vettel. They had made their decision to back their younger driver, and Seb knew this. Everyone was surprised by Vettel’s struggles that year, with Leclerc outscoring him in his first year with the team. Ferrari then didn’t offer him a new contract for 2021 and in came Carlos Sainz.
2021 saw Vettel, Sainz and Riccardo all at new teams and the race was on to see who could adapt to their new car the quickest. It didn’t take long for us to get an answer. And boy, was it an emphatic one. If Ferrari were hoping Carlos would be quick, but at the same time, slow enough to play second fiddle to Leclerc, they got more than they bargained for. The Spaniard was competitive immediately. His times in testing were right up there with his new teammate. His consistency throughout 2021 turned heads in the paddock and was enough to eventually secure him fifth place overall in the Driver’s Standings. He finished, in fact, two places ahead of Leclerc.
As the start of the 2022 season nears, Ferrari’s drivers will now surely be treated as equals. It will be a race between the two men to get to grips with the regulations. At 27 years old, Sainz has driven for more teams than most and has a history of adapting quickly to his new surroundings. For Leclerc, he has a challenge on his hands and needs to prove he can bounce back to beat his teammate. We know how brilliant he can be and there is no doubt that, on his day, he is one of the best around. He is a proven race winner but has been prone to mistakes throughout his short F1 career to date. He will need to eliminate this stigma from his craft. If it turns out they do go head-to-head, I fancy Ferrari could lose control of the situation. With it, they could also ruin their chance at the title. It will be fascinating to see how it plays out. Can they co-exist? I think that, ultimately, there will be blood spilled at Maranello at some stage this year!
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