Damon Hill predicts Ferrari will get ‘pasted’ in Italian media after ‘all over the place’ showing
Damon Hill expects Ferrari will “get pasted” by the Italian media after an error-strewn grand prix that ended with the team scoring just 10 points at Zandvoort.
Ferrari had a wretched build-up to Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix with both drivers struggling in the wet, especially when it came to Turn 1, before Charles Leclerc crashed in qualifying.
Lining up sixth and ninth on the grid with Carlos Sainz ahead, Sainz brought home points while for Leclerc it was a day to forget.
Ferrari were ‘all over the place’ says Damon Hill
Starting with contact with Oscar Piastri, his Sunday afternoon also included a slow pit stop where his mechanics weren’t ready with new tyres, the Ferrari diver overtaken by debutant Liam Lawson as they raced for 15th place, andit eventually ended in retirement.
His teammate Sainz had a better afternoon as he finished in fifth place but was left to rue what could’ve been had he had the pace to challenge Pierre Gasly for position given the Frenchman finished on the podium.
Hill believes Ferrari could be in for a few very harsh comments from the Italian media.
“I dare to think they’ve got Monza next week so they’re going to get pasted by the press in Italy,” he told Sky Sport on Sunday evening. “Their performance this weekend has been all over the place.
“The guys couldn’t stop the car going into the first corner, drivers complaining of inconsistent handling, Charles crashing, nothing really much happening in the race.
“That’s not good before your home grand prix.”
Even Sainz’s P5 wasn’t something to crow about according to Sky’s strategy analyst and former Aston Martin strategy chief Bernie Collins, who believes it was in part down to mistakes from others more than Ferrari’s performance.
“I think it’s not a bad result from Carlos,” she said, “maybe capitalised on the mistakes from others. There are a lot of people discussing that they stopped too late at various points in the race.
“Leclerc sounded like he was having a really bad day, some damage to the floor, but even before that he just didn’t really seem to understand qualifying which was horrendous at times in the changeable conditions.
“Let’s hope that Monza is going to be stronger because it can’t be a lot worse than this weekend really.”
PlanetF1.com recommends
F1 Driver of the Day: Who has won the award in F1 2023?
F1 fastest lap: Which drivers have won the most fastest lap points in F1 2023?
What did the Italian press have to say about Ferrari’s Dutch GP?
From “embarrassment” to “endless pit stop”, as Gazzetta dello Sport billed it, to Corriere dello Sport calling it a “very black weekend for Ferrari”, Hill was correct in saying the Italian press wouldn’t be kind on Ferrari’s latest missteps.
La Repubblica gave the team a “four” out of 10 for the race weekend and called Leclerc’s outing one to “forget” while La Stampa’s headline read “Ferrari at the bottom”.
As for Sky Italia, Leo Turrini wrote of Leclerc’s weekend, “between mistakes, bad luck, and tyres mysteriously lost in the pits, a weekend to forget.”
Tutto Sport declared that “everything went wrong for Charles Leclerc in the Dutch Grand Prix” but at least called Sainz’s day a “solid” one.
Sunday’s result meant Ferrari dropped 14 points behind Aston Martin in the battle for fourth place in theConstructors’ Championship.
Read next:结论:荷兰大奖赛马克斯Verstappen’s Lewis Hamilton effect; Leclerc in crisis?
