Mercedes & Red Bull too much for Ferrari: 'It's about a winning mentality'

Ferrari finished the Mexican Grand Prix in fifth and sixth place with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. It was good news for the Italian team because they passed McLaren in the Constructors' Championship. The advance of Ferrari seems to have started but Michael Bleekemolen doesn't see it that way.

Although the Italians are doing a lot better than they did in 2020, they are still a long way behind Red Bull Racing and Mercedes. It doesn't seem to be getting any smaller this season. "I am personally only impressed by Red Bull and Mercedes. The other teams disappoint me," Bleekemolen stated in an exclusive interview with GPblog. "The distance between those two teams and the rest is insanely large. Ferrari just can't compete for pole position in the vast majority of races, so we can conclude that they are not fast enough to drive at the front."

Qualities of Sainz and Leclerc

This is by no means due to the qualities of Leclerc and Sainz. Both drivers have shown in recent years that they have a fair amount of talent. "If they had the same car as Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, I think they would come close. Personally, I doubt they would actually win races, but they would definitely compete. For that, though, Leclerc and Sainz need better cars."

For now, the Italian racing team is losing out to Mercedes and Red Bull on speed, although Bleekemolen thinks the team can make strides in other areas as well. "At Red Bull we see every race that they want to be the best in everything. Just look at the pit stops the team delivers. They were lightning fast in Mexico as well. These kind of parts seem to be details, but in practice they work through the rest of the team. Apparently Mercedes and Red Bull are managing to show the winner's mentality this season and Ferrari are less so for now."

Changes to 2022 cars

Next year, however, everything could be different again. Changes to the regulations mean that drivers will have to deal with different cars, which should bring the teams closer together. "Maybe Ferrari are busy with the new cars at the moment. I don't know. It's hard to look into the kitchen, but I expect it to be exciting next year." Bleekemolen only doubts that there will really be shifts between the teams. "Because of the discipline and determination, I think we will see the same teams up front again, although this remains to be seen."