Red Bull immediately put things right. Another double and another triumph for SuperMax, in spite of all the drafts and poisons that hover over Milton Keynes. The message is clear and loud: we are in charge now. Four races of this world championship and three doubles, interrupted by just one disappointment, that of Melbourne. But at Suzuka, the thing that demoralizes the opponents the most is the negligible ease with which he expressed his excessive power, with Verstappen and Perez who, after changing tires, took no time in overtaking the other powerless single-seaters like skittles and leaving on the catwalk towards the finish line. Behind them, however, Ferrari confirms that Melbourne was not an illusion, and that the progress of the SF24 compared to its sisters of the past is real, clear and evident. Carlos Sainzm conquers another podium at the end of an almost perfect race in Niki Lauda style, careful at the start and excellent in management against McLaren, while Leclerc recovers from eighth to fourth place and is miraculous in extending the life of the medium tire in the first stint, which allowed him to stop only once, resulting in a decidedly good race pace. That this is a different season compared to last year is demonstrated by the points collected in these four races: Charles Leclerc has 58, while he had 21 twelve months ago (+130 percent), Carlos Sainz 55, but with a Grand Fewer premiums missed due to the appendicitis operation, against 30 (80 percent more) and Ferrari 114 against 51 (120 percent more). These are numbers that speak for themselves. But they are not enough to erase the gap from Red Bull. Unfortunately, that risks remaining as a brand for the Rossa, not just for the present.
Poisons at Red Bull
What is certain is that when the Austrian team starts the engines it proves to be stronger not only so clearly than all the competition, but also than all the poisons that infect Milton Keynes, with the two different souls governing the multinational in an exhausting fight for the power, the Thai one of Chalerm Yoovidhya which controls 51 percent of the shares, with which Christian Horner is aligned, and that of the Austrian branch which is headed by the heirs of Mateschitz, in excellent relations with Helmut Marko and the Verstappen, father Jos and son Max. After the alleged harassment by the English team principal towards one of his collaborators and the storm that followed with the internal investigation, the leaks, the controversial acquittal of the accused and the removal of the woman, with a corollary comments galore from the various parties involved, the fraternal atmosphere exhibited in front of the TV in Melbourne seemed to have brought back some peace within the Milton Keynes team. In reality, as the German online newspaper F1-Insider claims, not only is the conflict not over at all, but it is even close to a turning point, because Yoovidhya, thanks to its majority, has obtained the disengagement of the branch in defense of its team manager Austrian from the management of the F1 team. And this could mean, in addition to the exit of Helmut Marko, also that of Max Verstappen, who is very close to the sports director and historic consultant for Red Bull. It is true that Christian Horner, right here from Suzuka, was keen to point out that next year «Max will still be one hundred percent a Red Bull driver and Sergio Perez will also be one hundred percent, if he confirms the performances of this beginning of the world championship”, trying to silence all the rumors about the sensational divorce. But it is equally true that Toto Wolff does not seem to want to give up the possibility of bringing SuperMax to Mercedes so easily. And it wouldn’t just be the Dutch rider in the balance. Because even Adrien Newey, the only true genius of F1, would have questioned his future, highly courted by Aston Villa (favourite: large contract and the possibility of staying in England close to his family) and Ferrari (which in any case does not give up) .
Ferrari rebirth?
In any case it is clear that something of the future revolves around the events of Milton Keynes and its news. Even if at Ferrari for now they are going straight without paying too much attention. The Maranello team has improved not only in the performance of the car, but also in teamwork (and in this sense it certainly didn’t hurt to get rid of some incredible ballast that weighed on the back and in the garage). Vssseur is starting to be right, and we have to give him credit for it. Now that he no longer has to take away his anxieties, the fairy tale of progress is no longer necessary. Better to be realistic: «We are very focused on the car we have to make the most of our package. At the moment we are not at an optimal level, we need to concentrate on the set-up, on tire management, and then we will be able to bring the updates.” But when you talk like that, it’s usually a good sign. Because it means that Ferrari finally knows what it has to do.
2024-04-07 08:37:40
#Red #Bull #victories #poisons #Ferrari #coming
