At the Canadian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen managed to take another victory without serious resistance and stood out even more in the overall drivers’ classification. No one can compete with the Dutch Red Bull driver.
In Montreal, Ferrari decided not to waste time on trifles and replaced Charles Leclerc not only with the electronic control unit, but also with the engine. The decision is logical, given that the track that bears the name of Gilles Villeneuve is one of the most comfortable in terms of overtaking. Due to unnecessary changes, Leclerc received penalties and started from 20th place. It’s already less of a competitor in Canada for Verstappen. Yes, Charles did a good job and minimized casualties, getting almost the most out of the car and situations with the advent of virtual security machines. Strategists “Ferrari” this time did not fail, the car did not disappoint, but only fifth place.
Sergio Perez is another contender for Verstappen and his teammate can hardly be considered a serious contender. Cheko is brave in an interview and says he is fighting for the title, but in Baku the Mexican in the lead was ordered not to fight and handed the championship to Verstappen. In Canada, Perez retired early due to problems with his car.
After the first races, Verstappen’s situation didn’t look so good. On the contrary, “Red Bull” suffered from the reliability of the machines, and Leclerc and “Ferrari” showed excellent speed and easily went ahead. But then “Red Bull” corrected its problems, and the advantage of other components made it possible not only to quickly catch up, but also to get ahead. At present, Verstappen is 46 points ahead of Perez and 49 points ahead of Leclerc.
In many ways, such a gap turned out to be detrimental to the competitors themselves, “Red Bull”. “Ferrari” showed good speed from the first stages of the new season, but in the end missed the moment when it was necessary to add reliability. Instead, Ferrari engineers changed the paint to make the car lighter. As a result, Leclerc had two retirements due to engine issues. Surprisingly, both times Charles was in the lead at the same time. In Barcelona it didn’t matter much, even the driver himself wasn’t worried, but in Baku it was getting alarming. There, “Ferrari” got two rallies at the very beginning, and both for technical reasons. Already a serious signal to ponder. Between these Leclerc rallies, there was yet another epic failure by the team’s strategists, who called Charles for refueling at the same time as Sainz and ruined their driver’s race.
Admittedly, in this context, Ferrari chief Mattia Binotto said that the team does not plan to challenge for the title this season. From now on, the Italian team has only one intention to become competitive again. It doesn’t sit well with the words of the same Binotto at the start of the season, but at the moment the Scuderia can hardly be called a clear competitor.
Leclerc confidently took all the poles in qualifying, but in the races either his own strategists or the insufficient reliability of the car interfered. After a summer break, Ferrari promises a big upgrade package. Let’s see how this will affect the title fight, but for now the competitors have been doing everything to give Verstappen a head start.
He takes advantage of this and goes on to win the second championship in a row. Leclerc can respond, but at least his team needs to stop interfering, and ideally work on the reliability of the car. Then we will see a great result.
Yahya Gasanov, Athletistic
Source: Sport
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
