After the Italian Grand Prix, most F1 experts discussed how McLaren has reduced Red Bull’s lead in the Constructors’ Championship to just eight points and have a chance of winning their first title in almost three decades. However, former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve believes no one should rule out Ferrari yet.
While speaking after the Azerbaijan GP qualifying session, he said, “They [Ferrari] can still get a lot of points in the Constructors. They’re not out of the fight. We are focusing on McLaren but Ferrari has been making points as well“.
Villeneuve made his remarks after Charles Leclerc qualified on pole and Carlos Sainz qualified P3 for Sunday’s Azerbaijan GP. If both Ferrari drivers finish on the podium, they can significantly reduce Red Bull’s lead in the Constructors’ Championship.
As things stand, Red Bull have a 39-point lead in the Constructors’ Championship over third-placed Ferrari. What will benefit Ferrari even more this weekend is the starting position of their rivals.
While Leclerc and Sainz will have McLaren’s Oscar Piastri for the company at the start of the race, the Australian’s teammate Lando Norris qualified only 17th. As for Red Bull, Sergio Perez qualified fourth while Max Verstappen qualified sixth.
Therefore, while Leclerc and Ferrari are in a favorable position heading into Sunday’s race, they need to ensure that they get the job done then.
This is the fourth year in a row when the Monegasque has qualified on pole but has never managed to win the race in the past three editions for one reason or another.
Leclerc couldn’t have asked for a better qualifying
Ferrari probably got the best out of the qualifying by sealing the pole and a P3 start. When asked Leclerc about the results he said this is the best result his team could have hoped for.
“This is probably the best result we could hope for. Normally the even side of the grid is where there is less grip so first and third are the best positions to start from,” said Leclerc to media.
While Villeneuve mentioned Ferrari’s title prospects, even Leclerc, mathematically, is in line to win his maiden championship as he trails against Max Verstappen by 86 points with eight races to go.
