For all the glory that Ferrari has enjoyed in F1, their success has not been consistent in recent times. The last time they won the drivers’ championship was in 2007 with the last constructors’ title coming in 2008. However, this year, their late-season resurgence has seen them consistently battle for wins.
During the US GP, the team scored a 1-2 result with Charles Leclerc winning the race at Austin. In Mexico, last weekend, they could have made it consecutive 1-2 finishes — a feat the team from Maranello has been unable to achieve for the last 16 years.
That said, Leclerc put his foot to the throttle a bit too early coming out of the last corner of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in the dying embers of the race. The Monegasque was running in P2 with McLaren’s Lando Norris right behind him. Leclerc went onto the gravel trap and Norris assumed P2.
Even though Carlos Sainz took a commanding win for the Scuderia, Leclerc could only recover to third place. This meant that the team missed out on back-to-back 1-2 finishes. The last time they did this was at the 2008 Bahrain and Spanish GPs.
Fun fact: it could have been Ferrari’s first back to back 1-2 since the 2008 season (Bahrain and Spanish GP)
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The #16 driver’s slip-up proved pretty handy for Norris, however, as he took second place at the chequered flag. And with Max Verstappen, his title rival, finishing in sixth after accumulating two 10-second penalties for his moves on the Briton, Norris cut his deficit in the title race to 47 points.
But with four races remaining this season, Ferrari’s 1-3 finish meant they secured a large enough haul of points to jump Red Bull in the constructors’ standings. McLaren are next in line, and if the Ferrari duo can keep up their winning run, the iconic Italian team could be crowned champions in Abu Dhabi.
Ferrari’s bid for the Constructors’ championship
It has been a season of firsts for the Scuderia this year. This season has also been the first time since 2008 that both their drivers have scored more than one victory in a single championship season.
What this has done is bring Ferrari the closest they have been to winning the Constructors’ crown in 16 years. The Italian team sit only 29 points adrift of McLaren in the standings, and with four races to go, the form sheet is in their favor.
Oscar Piastri has seemingly been struggling for the last two races. And with both, Leclerc and Sainz in tip-top shape, Fred Vasseur can count on his drivers to bring in the maximum amount of points to topple the Woking-based team in the standings.
