Ferrari won’t end 14-year F1 title drought because they’re TOO NICE – Leclerc and Sainz must be ruthless like Schumacher
FERRARI have a real problem. And it’s that they are too nice.
The Italian team are without a Formula One championship for 14 years and, despite having two great drivers in Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz – and the quickest car on the grid – that looks like it is going to roll over for another season.
Leclerc’s mistake while leading Sunday’s French GP was inexplicable. His apology afterwards was commendable.
In fact, it is impossible not to like the charming 24-year-old, who lost his father at a young age and his close mate Jules Bianchi.
Sainz too. The whole of the paddock was thrilled to see the likeable Spaniard win his first GP at Silverstone. But that shouldn’t be the case.
Ferrari drivers need to have talent but they also require ruthlessness, as seen in the likes of Michael Schumacher and Niki Lauda.
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Ferrari drivers should be feared but with these two, I wonder whether their rivals see them as being a bit soft.
At the top too, Mattia Binotto, the team boss, is also a nice bloke and huge improvement on the previous Ferrari chief, Maurizio Arrivabene.
But as we all know, nice blokes finish last – or maybe in this case, simply not first.
Leclerc took the blame for crashing out in France. He also put his hands up to losing seven points when he spun at Imola back in April and lost a couple of places.
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But the real problem is not his two errors but the fact the team as a whole have been the masters of their own failure.
Strategic cock-ups cost Leclerc a win in Monaco and at Silverstone, while mechanical failures were to blame in Spain and in Baku.
He then took a grid penalty in Canada due to that engine failure in Azerbaijan – the same race teammate Sainz was also forced to retire with a hydraulic issue.
Sainz has been the victim of mechanical issues too, while his victory at the British GP was almost bungled by Ferrari’s strategy to swap their drivers around.
After their latest failure to finish on the podium, it was bewildering to hear Binotto saying his team “had a good performance”.
Can you imagine Red Bull’s Christian Horner or Merc boss Toto Wolff saying that after one of their drivers’ crashed out and the other was forced to come from the back of the grid due to engine penalties?
Maybe I am being harsh, after all Binotto had originally set out his target NOT to win the title but to be “competitive”.
A month ago he said: “It would be completely wrong to turn that into: ‘Let’s try to win the championship because we are so competitive’.” And that’s the real problem.
He’s tried the nice approach but if Ferrari are to be more than just “competitive”, they need to buck their ideas up in every department.
And for that to happen, Binotto needs to get mean.
AU REVOIR!
SUNDAY’S French GP is the last for the foreseeable future.
Here’s is a list of all the things I will miss about it…
MERCEDES ENDS
POOR old Romain Grosjean must have been watching Sunday’s race wondering whatever happened to his promised drive in Lewis Hamilton’s 2020 Mercedes.
You’ll remember the Frenchman was offered the opportunity to drive it following his fiery smash in Bahrain, which ruled him out for the rest of that season.
Merc boss Wolff made the generous offer, but so far that special moment has never materialised.
But don’t feel too bad for the Frenchman – who keeps on banging on about it on YouTube – he’s just bought a £4million home in Miami.
GIVE IT A RESTA
PAUL DI RESTA was not too impressed with fellow Scot David Coulthard’s questions to Max Verstappen after the race.
The Sky F1 pundit was heard giving an exasperated “stop talking” as DC continued grilling the race winner.
Meanwhile, Nico Rosberg’s exile from the F1 paddock continued as he was part of the channel’s coverage from his home just down the coast in Monaco.
MAT A BOY
MATEO GARCIA is set to take the British Karting Championships by storm – not bad for a six-year-old.
The racer will fly over to the UK every three weeks to compete in the Bambino IAME series from his home in Mexico City.
While most six-year-olds are into cartoons on TV, Mexican racer Garcia says he is committed to his goal to be F1 world champion.
“I am going to be world champion. I was two years and eight months old when I rode my first motorbike”, he told me via a Zoom call last week.
“I drove my first go-kart when I was two years and nine months old.”
He’s achieved considerable success at home and has become an Ambassador of the Mexican Grand Prix.
And despite his age, he is already pushing for his parents to enrol him in the next level and move up to the cadet karting championship.
He added: “My friends say I am crazy because of my overtaking. They probably don’t believe it.”
Unsurprisingly, his hero is countryman Sergio Perez and says he wants to drive for Red Bull.
MARC-ED IMPROVEMENT
MARC MARQUEZ has stepped up his recovery from his arm operation and is set to start physiotherapy.
The MotoGP ace underwent an operation last month in America after scrapping the rest of this season in a bid to be fit for 2023.
It is his latest in a series of set-backs but he is hoping after four operations on his arm and some extensive rehabilitation he will be back on the grid.
He said: “We have taken an important step in the recovery process.
“In this second check-up, the doctors have confirmed that the humerus is consolidating correctly, with this we can start physiotherapy on the right arm and cardio training.
“I am very excited to be able to recover mobility in my arm to continue advancing the recovery process and I want to thank the entire medical team for their treatment and attention.”
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BRIT OF ALRIGHT
CONGRATULATIONS to TeamBRIT who won at Spa, taking a double podium.
TeamBRIT are aiming to become the first ever all-disabled team to race in the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race.
Drivers Aaron Morgan and Bobby Trundley won the British GP Championship coming first in class and third in the GT4 category.