When you start publicity as big as Lewis Hamilton joining Ferrari a year before the fact, there is always a very good chance that you’ve set yourself up for a fall.
Sure, Ginetto could have won from Charles Leclerc in an incredible Ferrari 1-2. For a few seconds on Sunday morning, that actually seemed plausible. Hamilton even led in his debut for the Scuderia.
For most of Saturday and Sunday, however, the fact that Ferrari was a little way off the race pace, and by dint of a stupid decision, both cars finally sat on the ass end of the points, with much of this horrible world we live in pointing, laughing, and chanting ‘we told you so’. Which is a bit unfair. But as mentioned, inevitable.
Look, whatever happened on Sunday, anything besides a Ferrari 1-2 was going to cop a hell of a lot more criticism than any other team. Including McLaren (of which one car finished between our red cars to rapturous applause, sic), Red Bull (whose second car really is worthy of criticism) and Mercedes (which indeed finished where the Ferraris probably should have).
But because Lewis and Ferrari are still just such big news compared to all of that, Ferrari is being dragged through far thicker mud than perhaps it should. Sure, qualifying did not go to plan. Sure, we cocked up on strategy. Whoever left both cars out is an idiot. But for the rest, it wasn’t a terrible outing. Just unlucky.
So we travel to China wondering what the hell. Let’s hope we come away wondering, How the hell did that happen? About something really good that happened. Not impossible. Would not be the first time. And it would be the ideal antidote to quell this shocking, mostly senseless sentiment that’s been about the Scuderia since Sunday morning.
Forza Ginetto. Forza Charles. Forza Ferrari!
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