The iconic Scuderia Ferrari is often termed as the national team of Italy. Hence, the people who represent the Prancing Horse are riding with the expectations of an entire nation rather than just a team. Who knows the same better than Ferrari’s 1979 F1 world champion, Jody Scheckter. The South African recently sat down with Eddie Jordan and Adrian Newey on the Formula for Success podcast and opened up about how he empathizes with the duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
Scheckter explained, “Well, the difference for me is, when you drive for Ferrari – you’re driving for Italy. When you are driving for McLaren or another team, you are driving for the team. That’s the big difference. You’ve got the pressure of Italy on your shoulders.”
Scheckter relayed that most of the pressure arises because of the intense media coverage that goes on in Italy. Anything that happens on track is most likely analyzed and criticized in the media.
Scheckter himself kept himself away from such vices. He recounts moving base to Monaco and not bothering himself with what the media or newspapers had to say about him to cope with being a Ferrari driver.
It all paid dividends as the South African won the 1979 championship. Ferrari only has seen two more champions after Scheckter – Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen. Now, after a 17-year drought, the pressure falls on the shoulders of Leclerc and Sainz to break that duck for the team from Maranello.
Can Ferrari finally propel Charles Leclerc to championship glory?
Charles Leclerc is a product of the Ferrari driver academy. Therefore, he most likely has a better standing than Carlos Sainz in Ferrari. Despite this, the Italian outfit has often let the Monegasque down in terms of providing him with backing to win the championship.
On several occasions in 2022 and 2023, the team have been guilty of making rookie mistakes that have cost Leclerc a chance to register a strong result. There have been countless instances, however, the most recent one that crops up is the 2023 Brazilian GP.
After a solid Qualifying effort by Leclerc, he slotted his SF-23 right beside Max Verstappen on the front row of the grid. However, an inadvertent hydraulics failure meant that he lost his power steering during the formation lap and crashed into the barriers out of turn 6. With Leclerc’s misery extending, Sainz had a pretty handy run.
Since the summer break, the Spaniard has been in elite form. He was the only driver other than Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen to win a Grand Prix in 2023 – the Singapore GP. Hence, for 2024, the pressure is really mounting on Leclerc to break free and challenge for that championship.
