Ferrari seek that winning feeling again starting with Zandvoort

However, their momentum seems to have stalled, setting the stage for a 10-race run to the finish line where the Ferrari will be chasing that winning feeling once again.

Carlos Sainz secured a victory in Melbourne, and Charles Leclerc won his home race in Monaco. But since then, the Reds, led by Frédéric Vasseur, have found themselves struggling in a four-team battle at the front of the Formula 1 field. While Red Bull, now winless in four races, seems to have plateaued with their RB20, Mercedes and McLaren have only improved.

Ferrari have stood still. Nevertheless, heading into Holland, Tifosi have reason to be optimistic, with Leclerc's encouraging pole position and podium finish in Belgium suggesting the SF24 still has the speed needed to compete in the ever-tightening top end of the F1 field.

In Ferrari's team preview for Zandvoort, Vasseur stated: "Just before the summer break, the team as a whole performed well in the Belgian Grand Prix, securing pole position and a podium finish with Charles, which was a real confidence booster.

Vasseur continued: "Zandvoort being short, narrow, and twisty. Therefore, ensuring we do everything right, down to the last little detail, will be vital, and qualifying will be especially important as overtaking is very difficult.

"As always, we will focus on getting every last drop of performance out of our package. That starts with identifying the best setup as quickly as possible, as well as relying on those on the pit wall and the drivers to make the right decisions at key moments in qualifying and the race."

Seven drivers from four different teams have won races this season on merit, and all eight—if Sergio Perez can find his mojo—could win on any given weekend. This is not lost on Vasseur: "Knowing how competitive the field is this season and given the nature of the track, it’s logical to expect the weekend to be fought out to the nearest hundredths of a second."

Reflecting on the last race weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, Vasseur added: "Just before the summer break, the team as a whole performed well in the Belgian Grand Prix, securing pole position and a podium finish with Charles, which was a real confidence booster. Now we go racing once again at Zandvoort, a completely different track from Spa, being short, narrow, and twisty.

"Therefore, ensuring we do everything right, down to the last little detail, will be vital, and qualifying will be especially important as overtaking is very difficult. As always, we will focus on getting every last drop of performance out of our package.

"Knowing how competitive the field is this season and given the nature of the track, it’s logical to expect the weekend to be fought out to the nearest hundredths of a second," added Vasseur, now in his second year in charge of Ferrari.

The weekend after the Dutch Grand Prix, Round 16 takes place a week later at Monza, Ferrari's home race, where a victory would be the cherry on the cake for the Reds.