The Dutch Grand Prix provided Scuderia Ferrari HP with a more than satisfactory result. As the sun finally appeared in Zandvoort, the SF-24 proved to have great race pace and the entire team’s execution of the race was almost faultless. Overall, the team made up eight places on a track where overtaking is known for being almost impossible. Charles Leclerc went from sixth to third and Carlos Sainz from tenth to fifth. That delivered another 25 points which means the gap to Red Bull in the Constructors’ classification has hardly changed, with the team and Leclerc both third in their respective championships, with Carlos in fifth place.
Perfect execution. The Scuderia’s Sunday showing was something of a crescendo after the first two days saw it in difficulty. Despite both lining up on the dirty side of the track, Charles and Carlos got very good starts, immediately making up places. The Monegasque went round the outside of Sergio Perez to take fifth place, while Carlos immediately got ahead of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso to go eighth and then seventh on lap 11 with an aggressive move on Pierre Gasly. The team called Charles in on lap 24 for the switch from Medium to Hard tyres and he then pushed hard, with a wonderful undercut on George Russell and Oscar Piastri which took him from fifth to third. It was another six laps before Carlos came in and he only just missed out on emulating his team-mate, unable to get ahead of Perez. The Mexican held on for around 15 laps until, with a clearly stronger pace, Carlos made a move on lap 47 at turn 1 which the number 11 Red Bull could do nothing about. He was now sixth and set off in pursuit of Russell who pitted on lap 56 thus conceding fifth place. From then on, the Spaniard maintained his excellent pace to the flag, closing on Piastri and Leclerc who were fighting for the final spot on the podium. The Monegasque had a brilliant final few laps, fending off the McLaren to bring him a seventh podium of the season, the 12th for the team, the 37th of his career and the 819th for the Scuderia.
Heading for Monza. It goes without saying that the SF-24’s performance in today’s race, despite not sporting any upgrades, is a great confidence boost for the whole Scuderia Ferrari HP team, which can expect the usual welcome from the huge number of tifosi in Monza for next week’s Italian Grand Prix. The home track is one of a kind and should better suit the characteristics of the Maranello-built cars which will have some upgrades that it is hoped could up the level of competitiveness compared to the rival teams, which as always are proving to be very strong. Today’s podium is no doubt the appetiser that will serve to warm up the fans and their support will be a further boost for Charles and Carlos.
Charles Leclerc #16