“They beat Red Bull in a straight fight,” Mika Hakkinen backs Ferrari to bring the fight in championship battle
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In Austria, Ferrari only failed to take a 1-2 due to Carlos Sainz's engine failure, and Mika Hakkinen believes they may have an advantage in the next couple of races.
This season, from the Spanish Grand Prix to the Canadian Grand Prix three races ago could have been one of Ferrari’s best phases of the season. They certainly had the pace, but a combination of reliability and strategic errors cost them valuable points, especially being the case for Charles Leclerc, who retired in both Spain and Azerbaijan while driving in the lead.
What was even more disappointing was that Leclerc had taken pole position three times in a row from Spain to Azerbaijan, but was unable to capitalize on it, only scoring 12 points across the three weekends. Unfortunately for Ferrari, they have not had a ‘clean’ or spotless weekend for quite some time.
Silverstone featured Carlos Sainz’s first victory of the season, but many were disappointed by Ferrari’s strategy for Charles Leclerc, feeling that they had thrown him to the wolves by choosing not to pit him under the safety car. In Austria, the Ferrari looked much better on tyre degradation, and a 1-2 looked likely until Carlos Sainz’s engine failed. Despite this, Mika Hakkinen is optimistic about Ferrari’s future.
Also Read: Report: Ferrari will not compromise on performance despite F1-75’s reliability concerns
Mika Hakkinen believes Austria will give Ferrari confidence
As reported by NextGen-Auto, Mika Hakkinen believes that their better tyre wear in Austria may give Ferrari an advantage in the next couple of races, where tyre management, along with overall performance, is a crucial factor in deciding the result. He said: “Ferrari beat Red Bull in a straight fight this weekend and that will give them a lot of confidence going into the middle of the season.”
The Red Bull Ring is considered Red Bull’s backyard, and it is an especially strong circuit for Max Verstappen: “Ferrari have worked hard to find the straight line speed they need to compete with Red Bull, but this weekend we also saw they had better tire performance on a circuit that normally suits Red Bull.”
According to him, Austria’s ‘tyre wear’ type favoured Ferrari: “Tyre performance is very important in F1 and very much depends on the type of circuit, whether it emphasizes front or rear grip and the balance between the two. The Red Bull Ring circuit tends to make rear tire wear more critical than front tire wear, which favoured Ferrari.”
Despite Leclerc coming out second best in the sprint, the Monegasque knew that he had the pace: “Although Max started the race strong, Charles was able to stay in contact and overtake quite easily as Max’s rear tyres struggled.” adding that Ferrari got their strategy right this weekend as well:
“Ferrari’s racing strategies have caused some problems this year, but not this Sunday.” Ferrari stopped much later than Red Bull, and with their much fresher tyres, they were able to cut down the deficit quite easily. “It’s the kind of confident strategy Ferrari will need to maintain if they are to consistently challenge Red Bull.”
However, reliability was once again a talking point for Ferrari in Austria, with Carlos Sainz’s engine failure being telling that they were walking a fine line. Hakkinen thinks that Charles Leclerc cannot afford any more of these retirements, and would likely also need Max Verstappen to go through one himself.
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)