Ferrari have come under fresh criticism for their botched execution in recent weeks, which has left them with a mountain to climb in the championship. At their home race, Monza, the Scuderia scored just eight points, with Lewis Hamilton finishing sixth after Charles Leclerc crashed out, while Mercedes maximised their result.
Hamilton heads into Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix 76 points adrift of leader Kimi Antonelli, while Ferrari are second in the constructors' championship but 122 points behind Mercedes. Things look set to get worse at the Madring, with Antonelli starting second while Hamilton and Leclerc are fourth and fifth on the grid respectively.
Costly mistakes since the summer break
Ferrari could and should be a lot closer to Mercedes, but they have made some costly mistakes since the summer break, including at their home race. Before Leclerc crashed out, he pushed Hamilton wide at the opening chicane on the first lap and sent his team-mate tumbling down the order.
Two weeks earlier, at the Dutch Grand Prix, Ferrari were criticised by many, including Hamilton himself, for not doing more to get Leclerc, who was on a different strategy, out of his way on track. That cost the Brit precious time and, he estimated after the race, a potential second-placed finish rather than fourth.
Marc Surer's criticism
Referencing those incidents, former F1 racer and prominent pundit Marc Surer said Ferrari should be doing a better job. "Lewis really lost time behind Leclerc, and that should not happen between team-mates," the Swiss told Express Sport, via OLBG.
"I mean, even Williams is doing a better job in this way. If one is catching the other one, let him pass. He's faster, or because of the strategy, or whatever. But it's so easy to do."
"They called Leclerc into the pit [at Zandvoort] and Leclerc said, 'I don't want to pit, I want to stay longer, so I have fresh tyres at the end'. And they did not tell him, 'Let Lewis pass'. It costs less time if he lets him pass than holding somebody up. So they're not doing a good job, no."
Leclerc's crash record
Surer was also critical of Leclerc after his crash at Monza, pointing at his record of accidents as evidence that he will struggle to summit the Formula 1 world. He said of the Monegasque: "It's in his history. You always find these mistakes, it's true. But it's also because he's driving absolutely on the limit. I think he's always on the edge and I think this makes him make more mistakes."
He went on to add his belief that the fact he is always in a Ferrari which cannot quite match the benchmark car means Leclerc has to push harder, which makes him crash more. Surer said: "I'm sure if he has the best car, if he would sit in a Mercedes, maybe he would make less mistakes.
"But now, sitting at a Ferrari and trying to squeeze everything out of it... as I said, the car is not doing what he wants. The driver and the car are not one. It's not together. We do that in horseback riding. We always say, you know, to jump an obstacle, the rider and the horse have to be one part together.
"And this is the same in Formula 1 but it's not in Leclerc's case. He's forcing the car to do fast laps but they're not working together. So I think that's why these mistakes happen."
