Ferrari has headed back to Maranello looking for answers after a Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix in which it was comprehensively out-performed by both Red Bull and Mercedes.
Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc finished a distant fifth and sixth respectively in Sunday’s race having never posed a threat to the top four positions.
Such was the deficit even to fourth-placed George Russell that the Mercedes driver had time to stop in the closing laps to bolt on a set of soft compound tyres and set the fastest lap of the race, the Brit still finishing almost 10s ahead of Sainz.
The performance in Mexico comes somewhat against the grain for the Scuderia, which has consistently proved to be Red Bull’s strongest challenger throughout 2022.
It has typically led the way in qualifying but could do no better than fifth and seventh on Saturday before struggling for speed in the race itself.
“It was incredibly difficult,” said Leclerc of his drive to sixth.
“We were just so slow, so we need to look into it. We were in the middle of nowhere.
“We were way slower compared to the Mercedes and the Red Bulls, much quicker than the midfield, so we were on our own and just a very lonely race.”
The Monegasque driver conceded the team failed to maximise its potential in qualifying, but even allowing for that, its Sunday performance was, concerningly, the best it could have achieved.
“I think we could have been closer [in Qualifying],” he reasoned.
“In the race, the DRS problem was fixed, we changed the rear wing, and then about the engine, we still had some problems, but it definitely doesn’t explain the gap that we are seeing now.
“So we need to work on it and try to make in order that whenever we have our bad days that they are not as bad as this one.”
Leclerc finished the race over a minute behind winner Max Verstappen and 10 seconds in arrears of Sainz.
The Spaniard was also left looking for answers, suggesting there was slightly more pace in the car, but that it was difficult to extract.
“The car has been difficult to drive, and normally when it’s difficult, it’s difficult to pull laps together like we did in Austin,” he observed.
“There’s probably a couple of tenths in the bag, but for how difficult it was, I think I was extracting out there quite a lot from it.”
High altitude in Mexico means cars carry their highest possible wing level while only experiencing downforce levels similar to those seen in Monza.
However, Sainz doesn’t believe that alone explains the team’s lack of performance and instead suggests it was the team’s ability to switch on the tyres.
“Altitude shouldn’t affect us in terms of cornering speed, so my guess is maybe something going on with the tyres, and probably also the engine,” he said.
“I think altitude for this engine is not going exactly how we wanted.
“We knew before coming here we were going to need to take some compromises.
“Tyres, and then the car over kerbs and bumps was just difficult to drive.”
Ferrari left Mexico having added 18 points to its constructors’ championship tally, while Mercedes scored 31 courtesy of Lewis Hamilton in second and Russell in fourth.
The two teams now sit just 40 points apart in the constructors’ championship, the Scuderia holding on to second with two races remaining in 2022.
In the drivers’ competition, former championship leader Leclerc now trails Sergio Perez for second by five points, while Sainz has slipped to sixth, four points behind Hamilton and 19 down on Russell in fourth.
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