Ferrari is still the strongest team on the grid after three Grands Prix. At the beginning of the season the Italian team managed to build a car that seems to perform well on every circuit. According to Claudio Albertini this success is by no means a coincidence, as he explained in conversation with The Race.
Ferrari's Head of Track Operations saw Mattia Binotto's team relaxed prior to the season thinking about how it could build a car that would make it difficult for the competition. The current budget ceiling would have played an important role in this, as wasting money could have implications for the rest of the season.
"When you see that the car has potential, we could spot since the beginning of the project the parts of the car that were performing more and focus on them," Albertini explained. "Now we understand that our first idea was good because the important parts are in good shape. And we are following the base plan that we had since last year."
For now, Charles Leclerc has nothing to fear. The Monegasque is far ahead of George Russell in the world championship with a lead of 34 points. His teammate Carlos Sainz occupies third place, followed by Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton. Max Verstappen is in sixth place for the time being.