In the recent races, I’ve been feeling like some drivers might be subtly gaining or losing an advantage during the VSC periods—not while the VSC is actually active, since everyone slows down then, but specifically regarding how the gaps shift right before and after the period begins. Yesterday, it seemed to me that having yellow flags in the specific sector where Carlos Sainz finished the race should have been plenty, so I guess I'm wondering why they felt the need to slow everyone down across the entire track. It also caught me off guard when Ferrari decided to bring Charles Leclerc in for a pit stop instead of maybe running the numbers to see if Max Verstappen could actually catch him before the finish; it feels like they might finally be starting to take some cues from Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, since those teams seem to have much more polished strategists on their side lately.
Sam Clark75 said:I guess it’s just funny how they basically handed him the win despite trying everything to mess with him, and then they might even sideline him later on. I suppose you can't really argue with that; Scuderia Ferrari is just on another level. 🙏
Maybe Carlos Sainz could probably thank Charles Leclerc, because if he hadn't been busy tangling with Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton for those few laps, he might have ended up blowing this victory too.
Douglas Roberts49 said:He’s probably never going to get treated this well anywhere else compared to how things are at Ferrari. I guess they're basically terrorizing his teammate, even if he did manage to win.
Good treatment? I mean, they've already cost him at least three wins just this season, so I suppose calling it good treatment is a stretch, since good treatment usually implies decent strategy, and this feels pretty far from that.
I guess when you look at how Charles Leclerc managed to grab pole positions even with an older version of the Ferrari, it seems like he’s just in a league of his own when it comes to that single qualifying lap. Maybe it's just hard for anyone else to truly challenge him in that specific moment.
It feels like just more evidence that the best car on the grid is going to dominate, though I guess Charles Leclerc knows this too, since he mentioned a few times how great the car actually is. If you can judge a season by its start, maybe things could be decided quite early; they just need to stay out of trouble, and I suppose you should never count Red Bull Racing out, regardless of their issues.
I guess maybe Carlos Sainz seems to be lacking a bit of that old aggression since he joined Ferrari, because it feels like he isn't taking as many risks and is just settling for points, whereas Charles Leclerc always seems to be pushing for the win even when the car isn't really capable of it. Though, I suppose he actually acted unusually mature today and kept his cool enough to easily beat Max Verstappen.