“What does a Ferrari cost?” – from an expert to a full-on amateur performance

Red Bull Max Verstappen drove to an overwhelming victory in his home race at the Zandvoort track in Holland on Sunday. For Verstappen, the victory was already the fourth in a row and he increased his lead in the Drivers’ World Series to 109 points.

Mercedes, on the other hand, got up to mix things up and George Russell drove handsomely to second place before Ferrari Charles Leclerc.

Alfa Romeo Valtteri Bottas was in 13th place at the end of the race, but he had to stop after the engine broke down on the main straight at full speed. Bottas was left without World Championship points for the sixth time in a row.

Urheilu’s F1 expert Jukka Mildh analyzes the most talked about events of the Dutch race weekend.

When Bottas had to retire, Red Bull pitted Verstappen and put a soft tire on the Dutchman’s car. Verstappen momentarily lost his top spot For Lewis Hamiltonbut he passed the Mersu driver immediately after the safety car left.

– The race was decided by Red Bull’s perfectly controlled race strategy and timing of pit stops in special situations. Above all, for tire choices. The team is still very strong and accurate in its decision-making, says Mildh.

Correspondingly, Ferrari’s race was difficult. The Italian team had every opportunity to create an attacking tactic, but it went wrong at the very first pit stop. Carlos Sainz arrived at the pit, even though the team staff had not brought the left rear tire ready.

The stop lasted no less than 12.7 seconds.

– Ferrari to hell. They had entered the race with two-on-one tactics. Sainz and Leclerc had to cover Verstappen together, but it failed completely.

Although overtaking on the Zandvoort track is difficult, many topics arose from the race. In particular, Mercedes showed with hard tires that the team has speed and is capable of seriously mixing up the pack during the rest of the season.

The most talked about, however, is Ferrari, who made a mistake in the pits again. The team has had difficulties this season in terms of race tactics, among other things.

– Ferrari’s miraculous pit visit with Sainz calls into question what is costing Ferrari at the moment, says Mildh.

According to Mildh, from an outsider’s perspective, it looks like the team has management problems.

– When you look at this year’s trend, first of all, managing the situation is clearly a weakness. The fact that one guy doesn’t even bring a tire to the pit on a pit visit is a rookie mistake.

Ferrari also had another mistake in the race during Bottas’ suspension. At that time, Sainz was not informed about the situation of the Finnish driver, and the Spaniard passed by Esteban Ocon during yellow flags.

– Ferrari communicated poorly. When Bottas stopped and the yellow flag came, it took a surprisingly long time for Sainz to be informed about it.

Bottas started in 16th place, but he dropped three places in the opening lap. Bottas admitted after the race that he needs to invest and focus more on his opening round in the future.

According to Mildh, Bottas started well from the line for a long time. Nastolainen, however, had to go into the bag on a tight track due to a bump in the first lap.

– He started off the line really well, at least much better than before. Bottas followed his teammate and his driving line. It got stuck and couldn’t progress properly, says Mildh.

The Finn slowly increased his positions as the race progressed before his suspension. The suspension was the third in a row for Bottas.

– It’s a shame that the technology fails so radically as if from full speed. Alfa Romeo will probably have to change parts again so they take grid penalties. It doesn’t know very well for the sequel.

The expert was surprised that Mercedes cars work well above all on hard tires.

– Mercedes’ speed was very good. You could drive hard, especially with hard tires. It means that the car has really come a long way.

The amazing performance also made it difficult for Ferrari to fight against Red Bull.

– Mercedes will make this season difficult for both Ferrari and Red Bull in terms of the championship fight. It’s a surprise, but a good development. This race was between three teams instead of two.

Ferrari operation. According to the expert, simply Ferrari should not make the mistakes seen on Sunday.

– Yes, it’s a flop to forget to bring the fourth tire next to the car during a pit stop. Can it get more embarrassing in F1?

According to Mildh, it was also surprising that Sainz didn’t have as good a pace at the start either.

– At first it seemed that Ferrari has made a great tactical pattern and is able to save tires. However, Sainz also had difficulties with the car’s performance. Of course, it could be due to changing track conditions.

The F1 season continues next weekend in Monza, Italy. The track is known for its speed.

– The competition showed that Red Bull’s straight line speed is remarkably fast. Until now, it has been thought that Ferrari has the most powerful engine, but now Red Bull has taken harder blows out of the machine.

– Red Bull will certainly be really tough in Monza, even though it should be Ferrari’s home for speed and straights. Mercedes is not slow on the straights either. The competition will be interesting.

Despite everything, Verstappen looks set to march to a second straight championship with just seven races left in the season.

– It looks pretty bad for Ferrari and Leclerc. Verstappen is 109 points away. There are a lot of races left, but Ferrari has a big job to catch up.