The team is running cars with additional yellow livery this weekend, the colour Enzo Ferrari chose in honour of Modena where his team was founded, as the background to the prancing
horse emblem to celebrate Monza’s anniversary. Yet what happened on the track was what mattered to Enzo and a difficult weekend is still probably in store after a season he would surely have decried as not good enough.
Ferrari opened with Charles Leclerc’s two wins from three races: they had the car to beat to end their title drought, having been without a drivers’ championship since 2007. Leclerc led Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 46 points after round three in
Australia, a gap many believed would be difficult for the reigning champion to claw back. But Italy is round 16 and Verstappen leads Leclerc by 109 points. The title is in the Dutchman’s hands. He could win it in Singapore and Japan, the two races after Monza.
Ferrari faltered after a bright start amid a series of team and driver errors. As they have foundered, Red Bull have grown stronger. Where Ferrari’s misjudgments this season were
epitomised by bringing only three tyres to Carlos Sainz’s pitstop at the last round in Zandvoort, Red Bull have repeatedly delivered almost flawless races. Red Bull’s biggest advantage has
been a punishing straight-line speed and at Monza, the fastest track on the calendar, running with as little downforce as possible and a skinny rear wing, they will probably be unstoppable.
Ferrari are only 30 points in front of Mercedes in the constructors’ championship, which is extraordinary given their car has barely been close to the pace of the Scuderia for most of the season. The Ferrari team principal,
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Mattia Binotto, believes they are going in the right direction and that stability and time are key. “Right now, we need to find some good results,” he said. “We are still looking for victories and our intention is to win at every single race, including Monza.”
Leclerc, who took his second win here with Ferrari in 2019, to the delight of the tifosi, has been trying to stay upbeat as he watched his title hopes slip away, but was blunt that a repeat at
Monza was far from likely. “I think it’s going to be a bit of a difficult weekend,” he said. “We expect Red Bull to be stronger. The track characteristics don’t fit exactly our car.”
