Finally, after years, here is the real Ferrari. Which is fast, leaves everyone stunned at the start, takes the lead with grit and authority, has flashes that excite. And it matters little that the result, in the end, is a third and fourth place, because what the season opener in Melbourne showed is a chessboard on which the pieces move quickly and the games can change from one moment to the next.
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Mercedes dominated, with a car advantage – which could not have been assumed to be so consistent – and an engine advantage, perhaps with the addition of the “plus” of the hot compression ratio. But Ferrari, despite losing, showed that it has good cards to play, perhaps as early as next Sunday in China or in any case during the season.
Which cards? A valid car project in which the issue of tires not warming up or wearing out too quickly is relegated to a sad past. Then there is the Power Unit which has the advantage of the small and ready turbo that makes it fly at the start and forces others to chase immediately.
But, finally, Ferrari is now racing with two drivers, because alongside the usual, admirable Leclerc, the real Hamilton seems to have truly returned, the one from Mercedes’ good times. Should it continue like this, it would be wonderful news because no one has the impact force, in terms of driving, of Maranello.
A brilliant start is what motor-racing Italy was hoping for. The start of Leclerc was one for the books, because from fourth on the grid he passed everyone at the first corner. With Russell there was a duel that, with due caution, brought us back to the legendary and emblematic one at Dijon 1979 between Villeneuve and Arnoux: five breathtaking overtakes and counter-overtakes, stuff rarely seen. After that, it took another seven laps before Russell began his escape. There is a statement from Russell himself that says a lot about the SF26: “Ferrari was faster than us in the right parts of the track“, which is a truly encouraging technical compliment.
On the other hand, in light of Antonelli’s exceptional race, made up entirely of elastic-like comebacks, the suspicion remains that Mercedes still had some margin to spend, if needed. A suspicion fueled by the fact that Russell himself had expressed, on the eve, doubts about the reliability of the Mercedes over distance, so it is likely that, once in the lead, he thought more about the position than about increasing the advantage over his rivals.
Should Ferrari have risked the pit stop with the first Virtual Safety Car? Yes, it certainly could have happened, at least with one car, but the picture would not have changed and it would have fueled the controversy between Leclerc and Hamilton over who should have stopped first. In this phase, better this way.
Judgment on the new rules remains suspended. No one understood if certain overtakes were due to the skill of the drivers or the fluctuating energy loads. Certainly, the drivers are driving in an unnatural way and it’s not nice, but in the end, this too contributed to livening up the race. We thought it would be worse, frankly.
However, there are already those who are struggling like McLaren, which has the same engine as Mercedes but is lacking in the rest of the car. Verstappen fought back like a champion from 20° to sixth place with a debut engine: exceptional, but what is the true value of Red Bull?
A few days and we will be racing in Shanghai, a different track, new unknowns to face, Mercedes wanting to keep the advantage it has over everyone, McLaren and Red Bull already to be observed with a magnifying glass, and Ferrari which, deep down, has good reasons to hope for a big hit. An aroma of coffee and we will already be in China…
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