One can never take the credit away from Ferrari over how far they’ve risen after their dramatic fallback in 2020. All it took was 1 year for the Scuderia outfit to bounce back in the game, especially after walking through the treacherous path last season.

Subsequently, 2021 has been a positive season for Ferrari, claiming a handful of podiums along with two pole positions as well. What’s more, Ferrari are amidst an intense battle against McLaren for P3 in the constructors’ championship.

In a bid to increase their chances of beating McLaren, a new evolved engine made its way to the back of the Red cars, earlier in Monza, which is working like a charm. However, there is still something that’s holding Ferrari back – pit stops.

Carlos Sainz, in specific, has taken heavy beatings since the summer break, having to endure lengthy pit stops, which in turn, affected his track positions. Well, Pedro Diego, chief of vehicle operations at Ferrari, revealed why the team had been horrible with pit stops in recent times.

What did the Ferrari F1 crew say?

During a preview of the Mexican GP, Diego blamed F1’s latest technical directives for the pit crew’s struggles. Apparently, the pit-stop procedure has turned further complicated, which is forcing Ferrari drivers to remain stalled in the pit boxes for painfully long durations.

“Around the summer break, we started having problems again, also corresponding to the new TD. Not only related to this, because this new TD has a positive purpose, to make pit stops safer for the crew. But, to make the pit stops safer,” he said.

“You need to make them slightly slower, and in some way, a bit more complicated, with sequences of controls and signals that have to be sent to the control system. And sometimes, you find out that you are not dealing with all the signals in the proper way. The car is ready to go, but the system doesn’t allow the car to go.”

Big weekend ahead for Sainz and Leclerc

The Ferrari drivers, Sainz and Leclerc, will be under the immense pressure of defeating the high-flying McLaren duo. This is because Ferrari’s gap to McLaren in the constructors’ standings has come down. Hence, just 3.5 points away from each other, Ferrari can’t afford to lose their grip on McLaren again.

Leclerc and Sainz will need to out-race both the rival team drivers and consequently snatch P3, and then will have the huge task of further building that gap. But it is easier said than done.

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To Ferrari’s bad luck, Daniel Ricciardo, too, is looking in top form. So, there is no denying that neither Ricciardo nor Norris will give up easily.

The bottomline is – we have been the spectators of an exhilarating battle between McLaren and Ferrari for consolation, which is likely to continue in Mexico as well. But, who will finish ahead by the end of the weekend?

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