formula 1
Ferrari frustration before Monza home game: “Lows very deep”
Charles Leclerc hopes for many fans in the stands in Monza. photo
© David Davies/PA Wire/dpa
Monza is a Formula 1 sanctuary. Ferrari is hoping for a lucky break at the home game. Charles Leclerc wants to make the Tifosi dream. There’s only one problem.
For his declaration of love Ferrari could hardly have chosen a better location for Charles Leclerc than the Autodromo Nazionale Monza.
Located in the Royal Park north of Milan, the circuit is a Formula 1 sanctuary, a mythical site of motor racing and the spiritual home of Scuderia fans. “It was always my dream to drive for Ferrari one day,” said Leclerc before the traditional racing team’s home game this Sunday (3 p.m. / Sky). “My first goal and ultimate dream remains to win the world championship with Ferrari.”
The Monegasse is one of the top drivers in Formula 1. But the frustrated Leclerc will not become world champion this year either. And a prognosis is out of the question for the chronically hysterical Scuderia. “Like any racing team, there are ups and downs. I think Ferrari has its highs very high and its lows very low,” said team boss Frederic Vasseur, trying to put the amplitude of the mood into words. “My job is to tone down the exaggerations a bit and try to be a little more consistent in the approach.”
In Formula 1 since 1950
Sobriety and practicality are two qualities that the Cavallino Rampante (prancing horse) in the logo does not represent. Ferrari, the only team that has been represented in the premier class of motorsport since the start of the World Championship in 1950, embodies passion and emotion.
As is Monza. The high-speed circuit with 80 percent full throttle, an integral part of the racing calendar since the inaugural Formula 1 season in 1950, stands for happiness but also for ruin. Alberto Ascari died here in 1955 while testing, Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips died in a terrible crash six years later. Jochen Rindt died in the Temple of Tempo in 1970 and became world champion posthumously.
“We want to reciprocate our fans for their support through thick and thin. We are aiming for a great show and a race to be proud of,” said Vasseur ahead of his first home Grand Prix as Ferrari team boss.
Lots of work for Vasseur
The Frenchman was only signed by Alfa Romeo earlier this season to succeed Italian Mattia Binotto. It will take a while before his work, including staff restructuring, takes effect. In the short term, Vasseur has to influence the mood. “My job is to get the best result in Monza. I have to calm everyone down. I don’t have to go on stage and sing karaoke,” said Vasseur before the European Formula 1 final, aiming at the impatient Ferrari environment away.
He has “nationality and size” in common with Jean Todt, his French predecessor as Scuderia team boss, who shaped the most successful era of the racing team with Michael Schumacher. But that was a long time ago. The last driver’s world champion with Ferrari is Kimi Raikkonen in 2007, the last constructors’ title was in 2008.
The Scuderia is currently only fourth in the team classification. For the Tifosi that’s a slap in the face. “We’re not in the easiest of situations,” admitted Leclerc, which is not least due to the aerodynamically bad car. “But anything can happen in Monza, the last few years have shown that the fastest car doesn’t always win.”
More competitive at home?
The fastest car is driven by double world champion Max Verstappen with Red Bull. Ferrari hopes that Leclerc and teammate Carlos Sainz will accommodate the characteristics of Monza with extremely low contact pressure. “The track characteristics are closer to Spa than Zandvoort and Budapest, so we should be more competitive here,” explained Leclerc. The 25-year-old finished third in Spa and crashed in Zandvoort.
Ferrari’s last Formula 1 victory dates from July 2022. In Austria, Leclerc, who also achieved the last Monza home win – that was in 2019. At that time he was still driving alongside Sebastian Vettel – a different calendar.
In the kingdom of speed, Ferrari wants to reconcile its fans. Especially after the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola had to be canceled in May due to bad weather. “I have a special connection to Ferrari,” said Leclerc, whose late father Hervé was already an ardent Scuderia fan. “Driving for Ferrari is a dream.” Not in recent times. But Leclerc knows what the fans want to hear.