“Endless sadness”: Amid Charles Leclerc & Co’s disastrous slug fest, Ferrari reminded of painful past to give a brutal reality check

Scuderia Ferrari’s hopes of a successful performance at the Monaco Grand Prix were dashed. Both drivers ended up earning the team only a handful of points. The onset of rainfall during the final quarter of the race proved unfavorable for the Ferrari drivers, who could not improve their positions. At the start of the race, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz found themselves trapped in a slow-moving pack of cars behind Ocon, who was falling behind the leaders Verstappen and Alonso.

Despite their attempts, neither could make progress, with Sainz struggling to pass Ocon even during pit stops. Leclerc extended his stint but eventually pitted on lap 44 due to rear tire degradation. As rain arrived, the drivers initially stayed on slick tires but had to switch to intermediates due to worsening conditions. Sainz suffered a setback, going off track in sector 2 and losing positions to Hamilton, Leclerc, and Gasly.

Whereas the Scuderia boss Frederic Vasseur believes drivers are exaggerating complaints about the 2023 car’s tricky handling considering Charles Leclerc was only 0.1s off pole-sitter Max Verstappen in qualifying.

Luigi Mazzola, a former engineer from Ferrari’s golden age, expressed his concerns about the team’s performance, suggesting on social media that, “The Ferraris have now slowly arrived in the big center group, lack of performance and pace. My fear that they are Sauberizing is getting closer. Infinite sadness.” [translated by Google]

Mazzola’s comments reflect the disappointment among larger fans and the breaking up of all hope for Tifosi initially birthed by Vasseur’s arrival at the Maranello Brigade.

Read More: Charles Leclerc Slammed for Piling on Ferrari’s Issues as Major Weakness Gets Exposed

From the looks of it, team boss Vasseur is imperative in giving the SF23 the edge where possible. According to him, the Ferrari Formula 1 factory’s been working hard to put out an upgrade in almost every race following Monaco. It’s a ‘Be it hell or highwater’ situation for Charles and Co. from here.

Will Ferrari repeat history or turn out to be the dark horse?

The Ferrari team is hoping to make improvements with upcoming car updates to close the gap with the front-running Austrian Bulls. In an official Ferrari statement, Leclerc said, “There are still a lot of races left this season and we have several updates coming which I hope will let us get closer to the Red Bulls.” As it seems, he’s optimistic and hopeful for a worthy challenge to the dominance of Red Bull.

The racing saga continues as the Spanish Grand Prix, the seventh race of the Championship, gears up for a showdown next weekend. Carlos will naturally have plenty of support from his fans, watching the Madrileño in action from their own Grada55 grandstand.

Watch this story: How Long Will Charles Leclerc Wait for Ferrari – Will He Leave for Some Other Team Post-2024?

The Ferrari team now faces the challenge of regaining their competitive edge as they prepare for the Spanish Grand Prix.