Hills that become mountains to climb. For Ferrari, especially for Leclerc. Forced to start from tenth position in today’s mini-GP, it’s not a sprint. It’s not a return to calm after the tensions with Sainz in Barcelona. But this time his teammate has nothing to do with it. The Monegasque bangs his fists on the car after some very nervous team radio with his track engineer Bryan Bozzi: “What the hell is going on?” It all happens in the final minutes of a revisable format – that of sprint qualifying – in which the drivers wait until the last to exit the garage to save tires and not give their opponents a slipstream. You know what a beautiful spectacle the deserted track is, and in fact boos rain down from the orange stands.
Charles is stuck in traffic in the pit lane when the anti-stall system, which intervenes at low revs to prevent the engine from accidentally turning off, is activated. The device works in a certain way: after a few seconds it requires a manual procedure for the power unit to continue operating. In the absence of a human reaction, the anti-stall stops the engine for the safety of the driver and to protect the mechanical components.
Leclerc was focused on the cars in front of him and may have lost sight of the message that appeared on the steering wheel-computer. “I don’t know what happened, everything shut down. We weren’t extremely strong, but I could certainly have done better than a tenth place,” he explained. When he manages to restart the engine, it’s too late to complete the lap. Verstappen is flying again, dad Jos has started arguing with Horner again (“He stopped me from taking part in the exhibition of historic F1 cars, it’s like being in kindergarten”); Lando Norris, with Piastri in tow, confirms a competitive McLaren everywhere. Russell brings further proof of Mercedes’ progress. While Sainz, who had no problems, reveals a tired Ferrari. Carlos, fifth, took four tenths from Max on a track that takes 1 minute and four seconds. Vasseur blames the jumps (“A bad performance”), but the feeling is that there is confusion about the origin of the difficulties. Maybe it also has something to do with the probable exit of technical director Enrico Cardile, to whom Aston Martin has reportedly offered a large sum. Vasseur does not intend to keep anyone against his will, but in the meantime he has to go against the flow. Today a double exam with Sprint race and qualifications for tomorrow’s GP.
