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#939 2016 Russian Grand Prix

2023-01-19 00:00

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#2016, Fulvio Conti, Translated by Valentina Faustinoni,

#939 2016 Russian Grand Prix

Bernie Ecclestone, as we know, is not one to mince words. Not surprisingly, he is known as the Boss, and just a few days before the Russian Grand Prix

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Bernie Ecclestone, as we know, is not one to mince words. Not surprisingly, he is known as the Boss, and just a few days before the Russian Grand Prix, he openly criticizes the current Formula 1 circus.

 

"It's wrong; we allow Ferrari and Mercedes to lead us because they supply engines to most teams and therefore have a lot of weight within. We should go back to the good old days when we built F1 in the form we know it now, when my position was much stronger. When I was the dictator. When we try to introduce something new, we need the collaboration of everyone involved in the World Championship, and it's a mistake. That's what happens when democracy doesn't work; there are people manipulating Formula 1 according to their interests".

 

On the other hand, Ecclestone hopes that Ferrari has a great year.

 

"And it would be nice if Red Bull also had a good engine. Competition is necessary; I can understand that Mercedes doesn't want to change anything because they've invested a lot of money and effort and don't want to lose the advantage gained, but there's nothing worse than the dominance of a single team. People complain to me, saying they've lost the desire to watch races because everyone knows Mercedes will win. Believe me, I don't care who will win the next Grand Prix; if Hamilton wins his fourth title, well, let him win it at the last turn and not when there are still seven races to go".

 

The first three races of the season haven't produced the results Ferrari expected, but in Maranello, the feelings remain positive. On May 1, 2016, the Russian Grand Prix will take place in Sochi, and Sebastian Vettel is confident of performing well:

 

"We've said many times that we're happy with the car; we're certainly not worried. The first three races didn't go exactly as we wanted, but I think we're in a better position than last year. It's natural to feel the pressure, especially for me. There have been races where I was happy and other occasions when I know I didn't do my best, but that's how it goes. Usually, if a team finishes a season in second place in the championship, the next year they want to be first. If we can put it all together, the results will come. We're certainly not sitting there waiting for a lucky race to happen. We're working a lot, trying to make progress".

 

And his teammate, Kimi Raikkonen, shares the same sentiment:

 

"In the first races, we struggled a bit, but we came out with a decent points haul. Our goal is always to do better, to have a normal weekend without problems. This is a challenging season; we have to keep working. There are small details that can make a big difference to the overall result. What happened in China is not ideal, but it can happen, and now it belongs to the past. Furthermore, we managed to make a comeback in the race, so it wasn't a disaster. I think Sochi is a very nice circuit. In recent years, it has been quite difficult to get the tires up to temperature, especially in short stints. Last year, the weather was not kind; this weekend, probably for the first time, we will have consistently good weather. We hope to do well in practice".

 

Nico Rosberg, the dominant force in this early part of the season with three wins in three races, holds Ferrari in high regard:

 

"They haven't shown all their potential; for example, in the last race, they collided with each other and couldn't race as they wanted. We have to be very cautious because the Ferraris are fast. Me against everyone? I wouldn't say that; I have my team behind me, and F1 is ultimately a team sport. But I also have my family, my management, my friends, and everyone plays a role: every success I achieve on the track is theirs too. With this Mercedes, I have a fantastic feeling, and I can't wait to start here in Sochi to understand where we stand compared to others. It won't be as exciting a race as in Shanghai, but the first corner is an ideal point for overtaking".

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The German driver doesn't consider himself the clear favorite for the final victory yet:

 

"The Nico of this year is the best ever; he has more experience compared to the last season, and this is thanks to the battles I've experienced in the previous two years. The opponents have had difficult starts, and I expect them to recover, especially Lewis (Hamilton). We have only done three races, and there are still a lot of points ahead of us to conquer".

 

The reigning World Champion, Lewis Hamilton, finds himself forced to chase:

 

"Nico hasn't made a single mistake; so far, he has been incredibly strong. He hasn't done anything wrong, and everything has gone well for him. However, I will give my all to make his life difficult".

 

Now or never. Perhaps it's the eagerness of President Sergio Marchionne, who does not tolerate the lack of victories, setting the indispensable goal of overtaking Mercedes. Perhaps it's the desire of Sebastian Vettel, who, despite the challenging start, continues to think about the championship, expressing disappointment with this troubled beginning. However, Ferrari realizes that it can no longer afford mistakes, and in this fourth championship event, even though there are still seventeen races to go, there is a sense of reaching a decisive crossroads for their dreams.

 

This Grand Prix in Russia is faced with a true task force, represented by a new engine for both drivers, reducing the number of available engines until the end of the season (Vettel, to avoid grid penalties after Sochi, will have only two). This is in exchange for significant development, using three of the remaining nine tokens, aiming for a leap forward in performance and reliability. Ferrari is going on the offensive, understanding that, starting on a track where they might not be favored (unless miracles happen with the new engine), qualifying is crucial. It's difficult to overtake during the race, especially with only two useful points at the end of the long straights (turns 2 and 13), where a great top speed is needed to surpass rivals. Ferrari knows that to challenge Rosberg (six consecutive victories, three in as many races this season, aiming for a seventh that would bring him close to Vettel's record of nine consecutive wins) and the currently frustrated Hamilton, they need to be strong on a single lap. They can't afford, as warned by Raikkonen, to struggle with tire warming issues, as happened in 2015. Ferrari must put pressure on Mercedes more than before. Sebastian Vettel says:

 

"I'm a bit disappointed because I know I could have done more. It's normal to create expectations when the previous year you finished second. Becoming first is the goal, and for now, we are not achieving it. The car continues to give good feelings, the team is on the right track, but we shouldn't look for excuses. If anything, we need to behave in a way that luck helps us".

 

They need to utilize all available opportunities, starting with the sprint start that could have favored success in Melbourne but was absent in Bahrain (engine failure during the reconnaissance lap) and China (Kvyat surprising the German, and Vettel colliding with Raikkonen). While Marchionne admits that great comebacks are exciting, now is the time to become competitive. Sebastian Vettel reveals:

 

"The president told me that in China, at the first turn, I gave him a heart attack".

 

It would be better if he risked it at the finish line in Russia, especially considering the unfortunate start to Sebastian Vettel's adventure in Russia. Regardless of how qualifying goes, he will start penalized in the Russian Grand Prix, having to lose five positions on the starting grid due to a gearbox replacement. 

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And if that's not enough, the two Mercedes drivers, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, top the timesheets in the first free practice session. The German leads his teammate by 0.7 seconds and is over a second faster than Sebastian Vettel. Kimi Räikkönen, hindered by a problem with the movable wing, records the fourth time. Technical troubles, in this case, with the clutch, also limit Felipe Massa. The track, with little rubber on track, proves tricky for some drivers, resulting in numerous spins. During this session, Red Bull tests its own driver face protection system on Daniel Ricciardo's car, a plexiglass cockpit cover placed in front of the driver and fixed to the car. The device is appreciated by the driver, who praises its functionality. In the second session, Lewis Hamilton sets the fastest time, preceding Vettel and Rosberg. The World Champion's time is 0.6 seconds faster than that of the Ferrari driver, while Rosberg focuses more on setting up the car for the Grand Prix. The other Ferrari driver, Kimi Räikkönen, once again finishes the practice in fourth place and carries out race simulation work. Using Supersoft tires, the Finn sets the benchmark time after two warm-up laps. Other than Vettel, technical problems also affect Pascal Wehrlein. At the end of this session, Ferrari decides to replace the gearbox on Vettel's car, leading to a five-place grid penalty for the German driver. Vettel also loses an hour of practice in the second session due to a suspected electrical issue with his SF16-H. It seems there was an electronic problem, unfortunately, because missing a few laps on the long run doesn't allow us to understand how competitive we are. But Kimi did the right job for the team; it didn't go badly, and we know what to expect here. 

 

In qualifying, we still have a lot to improve. This morning, the track was quite dirty, then it got better, and it would have been better if the day had continued. We did something, however, in preparation for qualifying; let's see tomorrow morning when there will be another practice session. A black Friday. Prologue, especially for the gearbox replacement and another breathless chase. Vettel complains; the Russian Grand Prix started in the worst way. The Ferrari falls silent while Hamilton lowers the 2015 time by 0.3 seconds. Even worse is knowing the reason for the blackout, a fuse worth a few euros, which caused a short circuit to protect the battery. There is an hour left till the end of the second free practice, and Vettel is eager to drive to test the new super engine mounted in Sochi (costing three tokens, while from 2017 teams have decided on unlimited development, tokens abolished, and three power units for the entire year). It could be repaired quickly if it weren't for the fact that the lights on the car mean there is still voltage circulating, and the volts could fry some mechanic. The session is lost; Vettel closes sadly with only ten laps, although his time is excellent, surpassed only by Hamilton and better by 0.2 seconds than Rosberg (third) and more than half a second than Raikkonen (fourth). It's another unexpected setback for a fragile Ferrari: Raikkonen's broken turbo in Australia, the wheel hub carrier and Vettel’s electronic block in Bahrain. Plus the collision between the two drivers in China. Later in the evening, the team decides to replace the gearbox, which had raised some doubts after Shanghai. The backward jump on the grid will not be painless: there is little overtaking opportunity here, and you stop only once. Not to mention Rosberg's form and the unpredictable Hamilton, even on the Red Bull windshield:

 

"People know we are crazy fighting with life, and that's why we are paid a lot. It looks like the riot shield used by the police. I won't go in the car with this thing".

 

On Saturday, April 30, 2016, closes with Mercedes dominating the third free practice session of the Russian Grand Prix, the fourth race of the World Championship. Lewis Hamilton, already the leader in the first two sessions, is the fastest in the session before qualifying. The reigning World Champion, behind the wheel of the Mercedes, laps in 1'36"403, ahead of Nico Rosberg, his teammate, and Sebastian Vettel. The other Ferrari, driven by Kimi Raikkonen, sets the fourth best time, leaving behind the two Williams of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas, as well as the Toro Rosso of Max Verstappen. Completing the top ten are McLaren's Jenson Button, Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz Jr., and Force India's Sergio Perez. The session is eventful due to the introduction of the Virtual Safety Car after Sergio Pérez goes off track at turn 13, without consequences for the driver. Nico Rosberg also makes a mistake at the same turn but does not hit the barriers, followed by Romain Grosjean and Lewis Hamilton. In this session, Sebastian Vettel had to limit his presence due to technical problems. A few hours later, during qualifying, many drivers set their best lap time after two or three warm-up laps. 

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The two Mercedes drivers are the fastest on the track, with Lewis Hamilton leading Nico Rosberg by just over 0.1 seconds. The British driver is under investigation by the stewards for not respecting the agreed-upon track usage at the second turn, where Hamilton widens the trajectory beyond the track limits. The other top teams, such as Ferrari, Red Bull, and Williams, wait for the final minutes of the session to set their times. In this phase, the driver pairs of Sauber, Manor, and Renault are eliminated. The same situation occurs in the second phase, with Mercedes being the only cars capable of going below the 1'36"0 limit, although this time Rosberg precedes Hamilton. In this case as well, both Ferrari and Williams decide to take on the track only in the final minutes of the session. And in the last seconds, Daniil Kvyat sets a time valid for advancing to the decisive phase. Excluded, however, are the two Haas drivers, the two McLaren drivers, Nico Hülkenberg, and Carlos Sainz Jr. Lewis Hamilton does not participate in Q3 due to a serious engine problem; the British driver is forced to replace it. This gives Nico Rosberg the green light, who takes the lead, ahead of the two Ferrari drivers after the first attempt. Shortly after, Valtteri Bottas takes the third position from compatriot Kimi Räikkönen. Rosberg makes a mistake in his second attempt, enough to abort the lap. Vettel retains the second position in the time standings. The German Ferrari driver starts seventh due to the penalty for the gearbox replacement. Nico Rosberg secures pole position, his 24th in his career, matching Niki Lauda and Nelson Piquet; for Mercedes, it's the tenth consecutive pole position. Next to Rosberg, the Finnish Williams driver Valtteri Bottas will start, followed by Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa, Daniel Ricciardo, Sergio Perez, Daniil Kvyat, and Max Verstappen. Closing the top ten is the reigning World Champion, Lewis Hamilton, who did not take to the track due to a reliability issue with the engine of his Mercedes at the end of Q2, where he finished second. Nico Rosberg says, at the end of the trials:

 

"Today went very well; from Q2 onwards, I felt great, but of course, the others were very unlucky. This will make my race tomorrow a bit easier, although a race in F1 is never easy. I was quite confident that my previous lap was sufficient because in Q2, the Ferraris were quite far behind, and Hamilton couldn't participate in the last part of qualifying. Of course, you can never be sure; there were still a few minutes left, and when Seb crossed the finish line, I was very happy".

 

The issue that stopped Hamilton made my life easier:

 

"But I was focused only on myself. Now I have to keep my concentration high and do my best".

 

On his part, Sebastian Vettel says:

 

"We did our best, now we hope to have a clean race tomorrow. I would have preferred the gap (to poleman Nico Rosberg, editor's note) to be a bit smaller in the end, but Nico went really fast and did a great job. On our part, we did our best and took advantage of what happened to Lewis (Hamilton, editor's note) to secure the second position. This will allow us to be closer to the front tomorrow and start from the clean side of the track. From there, we think we can have a good race. It will be an exciting Grand Prix; the car feels good, and we have been strong throughout the weekend. We lost a bit of time, but this morning, we recovered, so there won't be any problem".

 

Thanks to the usual super Mercedes and a talent that has been sticking to him for months, Rosberg, on pole position, marks the number 24 in the roulette of his career and joins Niki Lauda in the record book. One who has won three World Championships and is now the president of his team. It might seem like a snub, but the Austrian boss is as radiant as him and is ready to crown him:

 

"Nico caught up with me? Soon he will surpass me and do much better because right now he is unbeatable. He is in an exceptional form, perfect both physically and mentally, at the top as a driver and pure talent. Lucky? Yes, but that should not diminish his achievements. Who is perfect does not need good luck. If anything, the opposite would be bad luck if, due to some unforeseen event, he couldn't achieve what he deserves. He flies in qualifying and in the race, makes no mistakes, has everything to win the World Championship. The road is still long, but if he wins here too, catching up with him for the rivals will not be easy".

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When Lauda thinks of an opponent, naturally, as a Mercedes man, he refers to Hamilton, yesterday for the second race in a row slowed down by power unit problems, and certainly not to Ferrari, which is trying in every way to annoy his team but continues to collect defeats, with the aggravation for Vettel (yesterday an excellent second in the battle for pole) of a dancing reliability that, due to a new gearbox, will force him to start seventh, the fourth row, on a track where no one will dare to go beyond a single pit stop and where for overtaking, you can only ask for help from a possible safety car, with mixed tactics and problematic restarts. Lauda thinks of Hamilton and has a worried look because the engine has betrayed him again.

 

"It's the same problem as in Shanghai".

 

Identical but on a new power unit, which suggests a structural problem, an eventuality that makes Hamilton shudder, more funereal than ever. The British driver doesn't know how to define himself.

 

"Sad, angry? Frustrated. Not resigned, because great challenges excite me, but reliability is becoming a serious problem and is costing me a lot of points. The Championship is not over, but woe if it continues like this".

 

The starting position is also mysterious, with Mercedes playing hide and seek. They could change the engine and still start tenth, as per qualifying. But they could also take a gamble, revolutionize the car, overhaul the setup, put on the harder tires, and start last, plunging into an attacking race and an almost impossible mission. Less arduous, in terms of comeback, is the task of the Ferrari drivers, although in the huge team, there is anger for Raikkonen's performance, who threw away the front row with a mistake at the last corner.

 

"It's my fault".

 

He says with a subdued voice. A mistake costing 0.5 seconds, with thanks from compatriot Bottas, partner to Rosberg and ready to fend off the furious Kimi behind him. For Vettel, however, only applause. Because on the flying lap, he put pressure on Rosberg, today's trouble due to the gearbox was already known. The German still believes:

 

"I start like a rocket, and nothing is lost".

 

On Sunday, May 1, 2016, at the start of the Russian Grand Prix, Nico Rosberg maintained the lead, followed by Kimi Räikkönen, the two Williams drivers Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa, Lewis Hamilton, and Max Verstappen. In the back, Sebastian Vettel was rear-ended twice by Daniil Kvyat and was forced to retire. Due to other incidents, Nico Hülkenberg and Rio Haryanto also had to abandon the race. To allow track cleaning, the race director deployed the Safety Car. At the race restart, Bottas overtook Räikkönen, Hamilton, and Massa. On the seventh lap, after failing to overtake Bottas, Räikkönen relinquished the third position to Hamilton. The race director penalized the drivers deemed responsible for the starting incidents: Kvyat received a ten-second stop-and-go penalty, while Esteban Gutiérrez got a drive-through penalty. Valtteri Bottas pitted on lap 17, followed by Lewis Hamilton a lap later. The Williams driver held his position for one lap before conceding it to the World Champion. Meanwhile, Felipe Massa made a pit stop. Kimi Räikkönen, for tire change, pitted only on lap 21, rejoining the track behind Lewis Hamilton, now in second, but ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen. The Dutchman, shortly after, dropped to seventh but passed Sergio Pérez on lap 27. In the following laps, taking advantage of lapped cars, Lewis Hamilton increased the gap to Nico Rosberg to 8 seconds. The standings remained unchanged until lap 34 when Max Verstappen retired due to an engine failure. Fernando Alonso moved up to sixth, followed by Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean. 

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Later in the race, Lewis Hamilton was warned by his engineers about a technical issue regarding rising water temperature, forcing him to abandon the pursuit of Nico Rosberg. In the final laps, Jenson Button overtook Carlos Sainz Jr. and entered the top ten. Nico Rosberg won the Russian Grand Prix, securing his seventh consecutive victory, the fourth win of the season, and his first career Grand Slam in the top category. McLaren placed both cars in the top ten for the first time since the 2015 Hungarian Grand Prix, and Renault earned its first points in 2016, ending a five-year drought since the 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix. Rosberg demonstrated dominance, starting from pole and effortlessly winning the race, even setting the fastest lap on the last lap. It was a display of strength to establish himself as the team leader at Mercedes. Despite Hamilton finishing second (starting from tenth), the gap was considerable. The same applied to Ferrari, defeated despite Raikkonen's podium finish. Vettel was rear-ended twice by Kvyat at the start, ending his race prematurely. Williams secured fourth and fifth positions, proving to be the third force after Mercedes and Ferrari. Meanwhile, Red Bull struggled, but McLaren showed signs of resurgence, with Alonso finishing sixth and Button entering the points zone. However, the overall Formula 1 season seemed predictable, with the championship favoring Mercedes drivers. Rosberg's 100 points from four consecutive wins created a significant gap, with Hamilton trailing at 57 points. The internal battle at Mercedes was far from settled, and the upcoming race in Spain promised a fierce competition, starting from qualifying. Barcelona is crucial for Ferrari's redemption, aiming to erase the disappointments and justify the team's efforts. The spectacle of the F1 season hung in the balance. 

 

"The images speak for themselves; I have nothing to say. I'm sorry because I was in fifth place. But if they don't brake from behind, everything becomes useless". 

 

Sebastian Vettel struggled to contain his frustration after the incident that ended his race after three corners. Daniil Kvyat was the one who rear-ended the German driver: 

 

"Too bad, really. I think it was all unnecessary, and I don't understand why. The Grand Prix lasts 53 laps". 

 

Kimi Raikkonen, on the podium for the second time this season, found it hard to settle for third place in the Russian Grand Prix. The Finnish driver was blunt: 

 

"Anyone driving a Ferrari aims to win, and today we did everything to win. I finished third, and I'm happy, but the team's desire is to achieve better results. I started well, but then, just like last year, I lacked speed. That's why I couldn't initially keep Bottas behind with the Williams. I repeat, the pace was good, the speed less so". 

 

In the final laps, Raikkonen closed in on Hamilton: 

 

"I saw him, yes, but I would never have been able to overtake him due to the top speed problem". 

 

On the other hand, Nico Rosberg, at the end of the Russian Grand Prix, won with ease: 

 

"Today, my car was fantastic, both in qualifying and in the race. I pushed until the end because I didn't want to lose concentration; the risk of making a mistake was very high. The World Championship? We're only at the fourth race out of twenty-one on the calendar. I prefer to think race by race; my focus now is on Barcelona, the Spanish Grand Prix. I believe it will be tough with Hamilton; nothing is taken for granted".

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Lewis Hamilton concluded the Russian Grand Prix with few, succinct words, expressing that just as he began to entertain the idea of a significant comeback, he was thwarted by a technical issue:

 

"At one point, I was closing in on Rosberg, the car was responding well, never had doubts about winning, but I had to slow down due to an engine issue. The water temperature was rising, so I chose not to take risks and settled for second place, which still satisfies me. These are valuable points for the Championship. The start? It wasn't one of the easiest in my career, but it worked out".

 

Maurizio Arrivabene, Ferrari's team principal, returning from the heavy defeat in Sochi, let out an almost desperate cry, underlying tenacity and determination, qualities the team proudly displays, even though they have seen little fruition so far. The voice of Sergio Marchionne, Ferrari's president, is also heard.

 

"We don't give up. It's not over. We can still beat Mercedes, although I recognize that they are the strongest team in Formula 1 over the last ten years. It was a very bad day, there's still a lot of work to do, but I have full confidence in the team, and we will make it. We have to close the gap at the speed of light; I was used to seeing Schumacher's Ferrari, seeing it struggle like this breaks my heart".

 

Russia was supposed to be a decisive turning point; Maranello brought a new engine and front wings to beat the German rivals. However, Ferrari returns to Italy with little to show—a third-place finish for Raikkonen, increasingly resembling the best of the rest given Mercedes' dominance, and Vettel's colossal frustration, out of the race after three turns and furious with the Russian Kvyat, with whom he had already quarreled in Shanghai, managing to rear-end him three times in a few meters. Ferrari has suffered another heavy setback, a burden on their championship dreams, but Arrivabene refuses to give up.

 

"To be stronger than the monsters, we know we have to become monsters ourselves. That's why we pushed to the maximum in development, that's why we took risks, knowing the reliability could be compromised. If the breakdowns are more frequent, it's my fault; I'm the one who said to go beyond the limit. Prudence would never have allowed us to get close. It's clear that now we can't make mistakes anymore; we have to learn from them and not make them again. I don't believe in bad luck; for me, it doesn't exist. Behind an unexpected event, there's always a human factor".

 

Arrivabene also comments on the on-track incidents:

 

"In China, our drivers made mistakes at the first turn; it was Vettel's fault, who opened the door to Kvyat and then collided with Raikkonen. This time for Sebastian, it was different; it was all Kvyat, with maneuvers that we frankly find hallucinating and would not want to see again. But I'm not interested in talking about others; let's think about ourselves, our difficulties, our troubles. From Raikkonen in Russia, we could have expected something more. The podium is never to be dismissed; he had a good race, but after the safety car came in, I saw a too resigned attitude. It wasn't easy to resist Hamilton, but he gave the impression of not even trying. It's a shame because here in Russia, we understood that if we put pressure on Mercedes, even their cars can have problems. Hamilton had trouble with the engine again in the end, and nothing ever happens to Rosberg because he always strolls around. We know that in qualifying, we're not at their level, but with good starts, we can make up for it, as seen in Australia and could have happened in Bahrain if Vettel's engine hadn't broken on the formation lap. This wasn't our track, along with Spa in Belgium, where we struggle the most, but from Barcelona, the conversation must be different. We want and can compete on equal terms".

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The obligatory destiny is to turn the page immediately. According to Arrivabene, the tokens spent in Russia will be beneficial in Barcelona.

 

"There, you will finally see a real leap in quality. That is a track where we can win".

 

To try to reduce a gap that is currently embarrassing. Rosberg, in fact, is flying, having reached 100 points with four wins out of four, while Vettel has already suffered two retirements, something that Alonso (accidents with the red car at the starts in Belgium and Japan) in 2012 paid dearly for in the title fight and is now submerged with a 67-point gap. Even Hamilton, for the first time the younger brother in the Mercedes home, finds it hard to believe in a comeback with his 43 points behind, making it difficult to understand what Ferrari can cling to for a miracle. However, Vettel leaves Russia with intact motivation:

 

"I will try to forget Kvyat and I am already thinking about a comeback".

 

And the reserved Raikkonen thinks that not all is lost:

 

"Even though we are still far from the Mercedes and need more speed".

 

The Russian verdict is disheartening, not only for President Marchionne and all the fans, but the definitive game over can still be postponed. As long as it doesn't go beyond Barcelona and Monte Carlo. In the words of President Marchionne, who at the beginning of the season had sentenced Ferrari to win the World Championship, there is frustration. Pain that quickly turns into anger at the troubled start of the season and the continuous triumphs (Rosberg's clean sweep, four wins in four races) of Mercedes. Ferrari's president states:

 

"It breaks my heart to see Ferrari suffering like this. Sunday was a very bad day. Technical shortcomings persist despite the team's great effort. I was used to a different Ferrari, Schumacher's Red, which collected victories. Luck did not help us, but things cannot continue like this; it does not belong to the team’s DNA. In the past, we made mistakes in planning, not this time. The car and the drivers are there; we cannot blame anyone. We got close to Mercedes, but we cannot bridge the last half-second gap. I know it's complicated, but we have to reach them at the speed of light because I don't want a Ferrari that chases. I have not lost confidence. It's a matter of time, but we will make it".

 

Harsh words. From a president who maintains esteem but risks losing patience. Because the project was to try to monopolize the top step. So far, it hasn't happened, and Rosberg risks making the numerical comparison even more ruthless than reality, as his ranking is fantastic with full points, and Vettel's is decidedly deceptive due to bad luck (collision with Kvyat in Russia) and strategic errors (in Australia, when victory slipped away also because Ferrari did not copy Mercedes' tactic with the entry of the Safety Car). Then there are reliability issues (engine smoking in Bahrain, gearbox replaced in Russia) and human uncertainties, with the German being caught off guard at the first turn in China. The figures have an effect and trigger processes, even though it is exaggerated to speculate, as someone claimed yesterday, a new upheaval at the top of the team, with Brawn's arrival (long out of the scene) replacing Arrivabene. In reality, the current manager even yesterday met with Marchionne, and everything suggests that he still enjoys the utmost trust, reaffirmed by his message:

 

"Do not give up, at the cost of taking risks, we must beat Mercedes from the next Spanish Grand Prix".

 

The fact remains that the team has so far failed to seize favorable opportunities (Melbourne), the car has shown fragility (Australia with Raikkonen, Bahrain and Russia with Vettel), Vettel is beginning to show some nervousness, and Raikkonen appears more useless than brilliant in a season that could mark the end of his career and the arrival of Ricciardo or Grosjean. All this in the face of an increasingly powerful Mercedes. In crisis with Hamilton but unbeatable with Rosberg, who in Barcelona reserves another victory, despite Ferrari's battle cry that, in addition to the new engine, will bring a significant aerodynamic development.


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