Ferrari against Mercedes for the 2nd place
Despite Leclerc's third place ahead of Hamilton, Ferrari is losing a lot of points against Mercedes. The Italian team has been caught up by the German team, which seems to be growing stronger and stronger.
During the Dutch Grand Prix, Mercedes regained points on Ferrari and now trails by only 30 points. This gap has remained unchanged since the break, but things could change during the first races.
The Mercedes drivers are on a good streak and are scoring a lot of points. In the Netherlands, both drivers finished 2nd and 4th, but Hamilton could have finished higher with better judgement towards the end of the race.
Over the course of the races, Mercedes gives the impression of being increasingly strong and going increasingly faster. They continue to achieve podium finishes despite the setback in Belgium.
On the other hand, Ferrari seems to be struggling and making a lot of mistakes that are detrimental to them. Since the break, both drivers have been penalized in turn. First, Leclerc at Spa for driving too fast in the pits. This cost him a position in the standings and therefore points. At Zandvoort, it’s Sainz who receives a penalty for cutting off another driver. He dropped from 5th to 8th place as a result.
Penalties, but not only that. Ferrari also suffers from careless mistakes in the pits. At Spa, the engineers forgot a tire, which prolonged Sainz’s pit stop. A 12-second stop that caused him to plummet down the standings, from which he had to fight his way back up.
On the continuity, it is possible that Mercedes might play a trick on Ferrari by snatching the 3rd place from them. The Mercedes team, who have been in good shape for several Grand Prix races and have not finished outside of the points even once, will try to continue their momentum at Monza, on Ferrari’s home turf.
The Ferraris, on the other hand, will have to regroup and make fewer mistakes in the pit or on the track to maintain their position. The next step is Monza, in front of their home crowd, in an attempt to gain valuable points.
