Leclerc and Vettel 14th and 15th in first Belgian GP practice‘This year we are not competitive thanks to project errors’Already under fierce scrutiny this season,
Ferrari face perhaps their toughest weekend yet at the Belgian
Grand Prix. The forests of the Ardennes through which the Spa-Francorchamps circuit weaves will offer nowhere to hide, the shortcomings of their car brutally exposed. The meeting, at which Ferrari have been imperious in recent years, is likely to be a long, trying, weekend with the Scuderia reduced from fighting for the championship to scrapping for a place in the points.
A year ago, Charles Leclerc scored his debut F1 win here. The previous year
Sebastian Vettel took the flag. On both occasions Ferrari’s straightline speed proved indomitable. Vettel simply blasted past
Lewis Hamilton and won by 11 seconds and similarly Mercedes could not match Leclerc’s pace in his untroubled win from pole. This year it will be a different story, Ferrari mired in a slugging match with the midfield teams and at Spa it is a fight where they will expect to take some licks.