Charles Leclerc admits he was “surprised” with the P3 and P5 finishes at the Dutch Grand Prix as expectations were low for Ferrari heading into Round 15.
Despite taking two wins in 2024 and reaching the podium ten times, Ferrari has trailed the frontrunners in recent rounds. The Maranello-based team have been struggling since a set of upgrades didn’t work the way the team had planned. Zandvoort was no different, both Ferrari drivers were honest about the lack of pace plaguing the Ferraris after qualifying. Charles Leclerc admitted he was ‘disappointed’ to be nine-tenths off of pole, and Carlos Sainz echoed a similar sentiment.
However, on Sunday, the prancing horses were telling a very different story. The Ferrari duo lined up for the Dutch GP in sixth and tenth, but their luck quickly changed. Leclerc got ahead of Sergio Pérez’s Red Bull in the opening corners and right on the gearbox of Oscar Piastri ahead. Notably, Leclerc was able to stay within a second of Piastri, keeping DRS, right up until his pit stop. Enabling Ferrari to pull off the undercut. The drivers finished the race third and fifth.
Strategy or pace?
It wasn’t just the pace of the Ferrari that led to a podium for the team. Their aggressive pit strategy led to Leclerc jumping both Russell and Piastri in the order which was vital to keep Piastri behind in the latter stages. The Monégasque driver praised the team for such a good race. He told F1 TV:
“We’ve been struggling from Friday until the race. In the race we found some more pace, executed a perfect strategy, we undercut two of our competitors and then we managed to keep them behind. So a really strong race for the team.”
Moreover, the start was incredibly important for drivers up and down the grid. Losing a place to Russell in the opening lap was detrimental to Piastri’s podium chances and Leclerc overtaking Pérez was essential in his.
Leclerc recognised the significance of a first-lap overtake, saying, “At the start, I knew it was a big opportunity – I didn’t know that later on we would also have the pace to keep him behind. But I knew that the first lap was an opportunity for us to gain one or two positions.
“I went for pass, it all worked well, but never would I have thought I would stand on the podium after such a difficult weekend for the team.”
Carlos Sainz repeated the ‘surprise’ regarding the Ferrari performance as he made the climb from tenth to fifth. He said, “Our best predictions of our damage limitation today was P7, P8, so to make it to P5 is better than expected.”
However, although the weekend ended on a positive note for the Maranello-based team, the work is not done. From Saturday to Sunday, the car went from being difficult to handle to Sainz feeling ‘at home’. The Spaniard made it clear that figuring out the inconsistent nature of SF-24 is the goal for the team.
Home of the Tifosi
Zandvoort only represents half of a doubleheader, with Formula 1 heading to Monza this weekend. Monza is an incredibly important weekend for Ferrari as it is their home race and home to the Tifosi. Despite reaching the podium last year with Sainz, the last win for a Ferrari driver in front of the Tifosi was Leclerc in 2019, something the team has been trying to recreate ever since.
Leclerc told Motorsport Monday in the post-race press conference that Ferrari will be bringing upgrades to the Italian race. He hopes it will help ‘close the gap’ and put them in contention for a win.
Monza, Baku and Singapore all play to Ferrari’s strengths and good results in the next few races will be vital to keeping the prancing horses in the Constructors Championship fight.
TEAM STANDINGS (15/24 races)
McLaren are breathing down Red Bull's neck ?#F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/AQjZYPcIDq
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 25, 2024
Feature image credit: Scuderia Ferrari photo gallery