You could be anyone; a fan supporting the marauding success of Mercedes in the turbo-hybrid era, someone excited by the 2021 charge of the Red Bulls, or a long time McLaren lover inspired by the team’s commanding recovery in the last two years.
But when the F1 circus reaches Monza, the fastest track on the calendar, you cannot help but reflect on the team that hails from the land of the temple of speed.
And one of the sights that truly highlighted the 2021 season brought us closer to a heartening sight in the qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix.
With both Ferraris running with gusto in the final flying laps of Q3, suddenly car #55 crossed the checkered flag with sparks flying all over.
It had beaten the other scarlet red machine by just 8 thousandths of a second.
Monza’s understated drive
Out walked a visibly exhausted driver clearly unmoved by what he had achieved especially in the context of what his team had undergone at the very track last year.
The driver with the better Ferrari start in 2020’s qualifying was Charles Leclerc with a not so breezy 1:20:273, good enough only for a P13.
But the driver with the better Ferrari start in 2021’s qualifying was Carlos Sainz jr., who got a fighting seventh. In so doing, even managing to outpace the more experienced Ferrari driver- Charles Leclerc.
Though truthfully, a P7 is nowhere near a podium and not even good enough to contest for a strong race. But what the 27-year-old did signified that Ferrari were here to improve and rise with every passing race.
Perhaps that’s something, which truly defines Ferrari in 2021- a been there- struggled-with-a-woeful 2020 outfit that’s forging a strong recovery this year. A team that saw both drivers register a comfortable points finish at Monza having once been an outfit that made fans teary eyed last year as both drivers failed to score a point
And in playing an honest part in reversing what had until 2020 been a peril nightmare, Carlos Sainz jr. has demonstrated consistency and lest you forget, some good pace.
The strong podium finishes
As evident in his three podium outings this year, two of which came in very challenging circuits – Monaco and Hungary.
At the former, Carlos Sainz’ commitment at competing at a track that happens to be good friend and Ferrari teammate’s home race was far well received than the hurting outcome endured by that very teammate.
Lest we forget, Leclerc’s pole was marred by tough luck as a crash in the final minutes of Q3 didn’t aid his cause a bit.
A promising fourth to second drive at the checkered flag from Sainz was a massive reprieve for a team whose team principal sat there in the garage mostly by himself wearing besides the spectacles, a forlorn expression.
Throughout the final moments of the testing race, Sainz kept trying to keep pressure over his former McLaren teammate Norris but to little effect.
The end result, though not a win, was a well fought podium thus marking a beautiful occasion for the young driver who bagged a maiden Ferrari top three finish.
But greater joys came at Hungaroring where a painful-to-witness P15 start eventually translated into a valiant P3, a drive built on the painfully correct tedium of passing one car after another. Though the start to a fine contest saw Sainz being the smooth operator having successfully undercut Latifi and Tsunoda to bag early advantage. And from that point on, he would never relent.
Yet, nothing that he did this year, and he’s done his bit- 149.5 points and P7 on the rankings- would be considered nearly as feisty as his opening lap exploits at Russia.
When Norris looked certain to convert a mega pole into a sensational win, it was Sainz who stole his thunder executing a brave pass at Turn 2, Sochi to put a Ferrari in the lead of a race, even though for a few laps.
Holding on well to a P3 until the end, he’d position himself among the class of the field of 2021, if one may put it that way- Lewis and Max.
Mission? Ferrari’s great turnround
Finally, his recent fifteenth on the grid to a respectable P8 finish at the twisty, nearly massacring Jeddah street course saw in Carlos Sainz a trusted horse who was here to ace every steeplechase F1 would challenge him with.
His is a car, we still ought to remember, is a brave- but not bombastic- front-end runner at the top of the grid; one that could so easily fight for regular podiums. Yet none of Ferrari’s improvements in 2021 would’ve come to light had commanding its recovery were not Carlos Sainz- a man so committed to his cause; a man whose cause is Ferrari’s great turnaround.
