🇺🇸 F1'23: R5 - Learning, turning, burning

That was… not a thriller was it? Max Verstappen extended his lead over Sergio Perez to 14 points with Fernando Alonso joining the Red Bull duo on the familiar looking podium, this time in Florida. For all the talk of upgrading in April and using Baku as a reset, this was the same podium as Bahrain, which already feels like a million years ago.

The trio have been on the podium for three of the five races so far, with a silver for Lewis Hamilton in the Australian chaos and Charles Leclerc taking bronze in Baku. And while the familiar arguments continued at the top, Ferrari showed some brilliance and frustration in equal measure with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc finishing fifth and seventh respectively.

The first thing to comment on is that this result is a step back for Ferrari. Last year, they took a double podium in Florida and after the Miami race in 2022, they were leading the Constructors’ Championship. This absolutely isn’t where Ferrari would want to be, especially with the Mercedes cars finishing fourth and sixth, putting the Italian giants firmly at the back of the battle between them and Aston Martin too (well, Alonso at least).

Even though they only took 16 points from the first trip to the US this year, there were some subtle signs of progress that they should be pleased with - and some warning signs that they need to improve.

Let’s start with the good bit. Ferrari almost actually managed to cobble together a half-decent strategy! For years, it has been a massive weakness for them, with their strategy team becoming something of a meme for F1 fans. But this time, they undercut Alonso with Sainz and got him out on track with a brilliant 2.2 second pit stop. 

And then the Ferrari-ness happened. Sainz took an aggressive line into the pits and ended up speeding on his way to his tyre change, giving him a five-second penalty. It took the wind out of his sails after that as his race became an attempt to mitigate the penalty.

He was also on the other end of George Russell overtaking him and getting the equivalent of being posterised in a dunk contest through some celebratory team radio from the Brit.

On the other side of the garage, Charles Leclerc seems somewhat frustrated with his team and perhaps has had his confidence knocked. The weekend had a weird start with Toto Wolff talking about the Monegasque driver as a potential Hamilton replacement, and Leclerc was on his radar.

And perhaps that frustration comes from having that pace over one lap, but being unable to convert it. In 2022 he had nine pole positions but only converted two of those into wins (he also won in Austria after starting second), but this season, only has one pole, which turned into a third place.

In Miami, that one-lap speed is there too, but he couldn’t show it, after hitting the wall in practice, and then doing the same thing at the end of qualifying.

He’s obviously pushing perhaps harder than he should be, but there is clear pressure there. Of course there is. It’s being lead driver (in principle) for Ferrari. Only him and Alex Albon have had more than one retirement this season, and this is year six for him in F1. 

Fighting for one of the top teams, this should have been the season he challenged for the title. Instead, he finds himself seventh in the championship, behind his teammate and languishing 53 seconds behind the leaders.

Like Sainz, he also had a Mercedes pass him late on with a brave Hamilton move taking sixth place away from him. Looking in his mirrors was a theme that continued in his post-race media duties with Leclerc namechecking Alpine as a team to watch

It’s interesting that Leclerc is choosing to look backwards rather than forwards. There shouldn’t be pressure from a team 64 points behind. Alpine took a double points finish in eighth and ninth, but if Alpine are a threat to Ferrari, then that says more about Ferrari than Alpine - especially after the French team’s boss called out their poor start to the season.

Alpine had 26 points after five rounds in 2022, and a 12-point reduction has caused the CEO to come out with some explosive comments. Ferrari have had a 79-point drop after the same amount of races but the mood is very different. Team principal Frederic Vasseur knows the pace is there - especially over one lap - but it’s the consistency that needs to be better. Maybe that comes with upgrades ahead of the triple header in Imola after a week’s break.

The first of two Italian races and a proper old-school track that made a return during the pandemic. Italian races bring with them domestic fans forming a sea of red, every single one of them knowing that their team hasn’t won a title since 2007 through Kimi Räikkönen. It doesn’t look like 2023 will give Ferrari’s fans a title either, but the gap to Mercedes isn’t impossible - even if not over one race, making up 18 points is very possible, and the 24-point gap to Aston Martin is possible too, but right now it’s just a little bit out of reach - which sums up where Ferrari are right now.