Ferrari’s 2024 season continues to be an emotional rollercoaster, with inconsistency creeping in once again. Just one week ago, they were the fastest in Mexico, coming on the back of a win in Austin. Now, they look third quickest at best, as evidenced by their pace at the Sprint in Sao Paolo.
The Maranello-based outfit’s start to the weekend was decent. Charles Leclerc managed to put his SF-24 ahead of Max Verstappen in P3, to start the Sprint in a good spot from where he could attack the McLarens in front. But when the race started, hopes crashed down.
This surprised Karun Chandhok. He noted how happy McLaren—who are being chased by Ferrari in the Constructors’—would be to see their drop in performance.
“They ticked all the boxes. Lando gets maximum points. One-two for the team and they extend their lead in the Constructors’ Championship on a day I think Ferrari will be worried. Where has their race pace gone?” said Chandhok after the race.
Leclerc, from the very get-go, was struggling to hold Verstappen off, and although he did a commendable job for a long time, the Red Bull driver overtook him with relative ease on lap 20. Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz was nowhere near the equation. He was around five seconds behind, running a race in no man’s land in P5.
Mission accomplished for McLaren.
Lando Norris takes his first #F1Sprint victory #F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/NJZHFBhr2u
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 2, 2024
A more concerning sign for Ferrari would be that Verstappen, within just one lap of overtaking Leclerc, managed to open up a one-second gap. While this bodes well for Red Bull heading into the Grand Prix, it’s a troubling indication for the Ferrari team.
Chandhok, presumably, was surprised because looking at Ferrari’s pace over the last two weeks, many had them written down as one of the favorites for the Sao Paolo GP.
Another surprise during the Sprint Race was Red Bull’s improved long-run pace—a notable improvement after their struggles during Friday’s Free Practice.
Can Red Bull maintain its advantage moving forward?
The track at Interlagos was resurfaced ahead of this weekend, and Red Bull initially found it challenging to get the balance right. Both Verstappen and Sergio Perez struggled with the bumpy surface, which added to the handling issues that have plagued the Red Bull drivers throughout the year.
Thankfully, those issues did not spoil Verstappen’s Sprint. The Dutchman, who started P4, seemed to have the pace to challenge for a win even. Plus, Perez, who has struggled comprehensively to gain places in other tracks this year, pulled off some great moves to finish P8 after starting from P13.
With parc ferme regulations lifted after the Sprint, Red Bull can make adjustments to the RB20 before qualifying begins later today. If the Milton-Keynes-based outfit can unlock slightly better performance, Verstappen could be within a shot at getting the pole, and perhaps a Grand Prix win.
With Lando Norris 45 points behind Verstappen now, every decision and point is crucial, which is why it is of paramount importance that Red Bull finds some extra pace.
