Ferrari is perhaps the biggest surprise of this season. Last year, very little seemed to work at the formation from Maranello, but good changes have been made over the winter. Not only is the car more competitive, the team is also functioning better.

World of difference

"Ferrari has taken a huge step forward," assessed Christian Danner in Sport und Talk aus dem Hangar-7. "You have to look at it this way: drivers are generally hugely demanding. They ideally want no tyre wear and the rubber must be up to temperature straight away'. But of course it's not that simple."

The former Formula One driver follows: "Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz had big problems with tyre management in 2023. That was then at the top of the list of points Ferrari needed to improve for 2024. Just like race strategy or pit stops. And now I have to say - chapeau! Ferrari has almost everything right, even the race strategy is suddenly solid. And these are the same people who came up with the race strategy last year."

Ferrari occupies second place in the constructors' championship after four Grands Prix. Leclerc and Sainz (and Bearman as the latter's replacement in Jeddah) collected 120 points so far, 21 points less than World Championship leader Red Bull Racing. McLaren is number three in the rankings with 69 points. The next Grand Prix will take place in China. A sprint race will also be completed there for the first time this year.