“Leclerc Shouldn’t Have Been Beaten”: Ex Boss Questions Ferrari Shortcomings as Lewis Hamilton & Co. Assert Dominance

The Qatar GP was an interesting weekend, to say the least. The Sprint weekend always gives us plenty to talk about and the fans plenty of racing action. However, if you’re a team whose car did not suit the Lusail circuit, then the Qatar GP was a miserable outing. Ferrari was one such team and the SF-23 struggled in Qatar. Ferrari men, especially Charles Leclerc, suffered throughout the weekend in the heated atmosphere of Qatar. Leclerc not only had a tough outing in the Sprint, but his P5 in the main race isn’t indicative of the reality as well. In fact, an ex-Ferrari boss believes the Italian team shouldn’t have been overpowered by Mercedes.

Ferrari was already down on its luck with both Mercedes men starting in the top three and Carlos Sainz not participating in the race. However, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell’s opening lap crash came as a silver lining for Ferrari. Hamilton was out and Russell was dead last. Despite that, Ferrari could not take advantage of the situation and Leclerc still finished behind Russell in P5. According to Peter Windsor, this is a highly unfavorable scenario and Leclerc shouldn’t have been beaten by Russell, whose race was marred from the start.

Windsor began, “Charles Leclerc, fifth in the Ferrari. Kind of as we predicted. This was never going to be good circuit for Ferrari. It doesn’t have any of the things that Ferrari do well. It was a lone performance from him, very disappointing really to get blown away by George after the incidents he had. Fair enough they got beaten by McLaren but they shouldn’t have got beaten by George. Not a good for Ferrari at all.”

Read More: Despite George Russell’s Humiliation, “Goat” Charles Leclerc Showered With Love for Enduring “Circle of Hell”

The Italian outfit needs to dig deep and find performance in the remaining five races if they plan to take the P2 spot away from Mercedes. Their chances could’ve gotten a boost after Qatar, but the unlucky scenario and the state of SF23 still have them chasing the Brackley outfit. Although, can Ferrari now bank on rising tensions between Hamilton and Russell to give them an edge?

Well, if we are to take the statements of the Mercedes men at face value, Ferrari does not have an opening yet.

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell’s admission toward the common goal should be a cause for concern for Charles Leclerc and Co.

The Italian team successfully defended their runners-up spot in the 2022 championship. Now, in the current season, the roles are reversed and they’re the ones doing the chasing. Ferrari currently, mathematically, still has a chance to secure P2 in the constructor’s championship. However, races like Qatar, among others, are hurting their chances.

Looking at the Mercedes camp, the Brackley outfit is determined to keep their P2 spot and so are their drivers. In fact, despite the rising tensions between the two, both Mercedes men are still focused on the common objective.

Hamilton said, “Our ultimate goal is to try and get ahead of the Ferraris and that’s what my goal was today. It’s to beat the Ferraris in the constructor’s championship. That’s all that matters. — Now it’s about just getting the maximum points for the team. I think that’s what we did here.”

George Russell repeated the exact statement in his own words. He said, “At the end of the day, we need to score the maximum points possible. For me personally, the driver’s championship is totally out of the window this season. The objective is to finish P2 with the team ahead of Ferrari.“

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Will Ferrari secure P2 for the second year in a row or will Mercedes keep hold of their spot? It will be an interesting fight till the end between the F1 heavyweights.