BEVERLY HILLS, May 20, (THEWILL) – Scuderia Ferrari, the racing division of luxury Italian auto manufacturer Ferrari and the racing team that competes in Formula One racing, had a surprise for the circuit on the opening day of the Monaco GP. They had not one but two cars set the pace ahead of title favourites Mercedes and Red Bull in the second practice of the day.
The Ferrari team showed their fast pace on harder tyres in the morning session, but not even the most optimistic crew member could have predicted that Ferrari was going to lead with both their cars in the afternoon when teams ran the lower-fuel simulations on soft tyres around the Principality with its famously tight and twisty streets.
Charles Leclerc, a Monaco native, whose car gearbox fault made him lost P1, finished ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz by a 0.112s difference. He ended up at the driver with a best lap, which he finished in a time of 1:11.684.
Although one would need to go as far back as two seasons for the last time Ferrari won a race and they are yet to register a podium finish in 2021, they have become an improved force seeking to banish the dismal performances that was their 2020 lot.
For the rest of the field at the end of second practice, Sir Lewis Hamilton, the championship leader, was third for Mercedes just ahead of title rival Max Verstappen in the Red Bull. The pair of 2021’s leading teams were nearly four tenths off Ferrari’s pace to the consternation of the drivers.
Verstappen, for instance, who finished nearly four tenths off the pace, said: “I’m surprised how competitive Ferrari is. I think it just shows that we are pretty weak. They are doing very well and we are very weak, so then the offset is very big.”
As for Hamilton, “The Ferraris are really strong. Surprising to see them improve so much, but it’s great – it means more competition.”
Behind Verstappen, Valtteri Bottas came in in the second Mercedes for a fifth-placed finish ahead of Lando Norris in the special Gulf-liveried McLaren for sixth.
There was a reversal of fortunes too as Red Bull’s other driver, Sergio Perez, who had set the morning pace slipped to eighth in the afternoon. Perez finished between AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and Alfa Romeo’s impressive Antonio Giovinazzi.
What accounted for the pace of the Ferraris could be the team’s penchant to run more competitively than others in relative fuel levels and engine modes
The victory means that there is a lot for the season’s leading teams to occupy their thoughts with while observing the unique day’s break from track action that takes place at Monaco before track action resumes for F1 on Saturday morning on what is traditionally the most important qualifying day of the whole season.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
