In the Suzuka GP, Red Bull becomes world constructors’ champion with 6 races to go. But behind it there is a fight between Mercedes and Ferrari for second place. The two teams in fact used two different strategies to reach the podium in Suzuka.
Start of season
From the first races of this season it was clear that Red Bull would dominate. For second place in the constructors’ standings, the duel was between Aston Martin, Mercedes and Ferrari. Aston Martin initially started very strong, leading to belief that it could be a good contender for second place. Unfortunately, from Silverstone onwards he lost several points, mainly due to car developments which did not bring good results.
For Ferrari, it was a time of ups and downs, with a car that promised great performance, but which turned out to be worse than previous years. He missed the podium in the first three GPs of the year. In Sakhir there was a fourth place for Sainz and the retirement of Leclerc. Sixth and seventh place in Jeddah. While in the third round of the season, there was a twelfth place for Sainz and a retirement for Leclerc due to a contact with Stroll on the first lap.
Mercedes, on the other hand, developed a new car after the terrible results obtained in 2022. Despite this, the results obtained did not satisfy the team. However, they managed to achieve better results than Ferrari, allowing them to be 20 points ahead of the Maranello team in the constructors’ standings. A small margin that Ferrari hopes to limit thanks to the positive developments on the car.
At the beginning of the season, in the Bahrain race, Mercedes managed to obtain a fifth and seventh place. In the Australian GP, Lewis Hamilton managed to finish second, but Russell’s DNF caused the team to lose points. While in the Spanish GP, they got on the podium, taking second and third place. In short, ups and downs for them too.
Japanese GP
This Japanese Grand Prix highlighted the fight between Mercedes and Ferrari for second place in the constructors’ standings. The race in fact ended with fourth and sixth place for Ferrari, and fifth and seventh place for Mercedes. This earned Ferrari 4 points over Mercedes in the constructors’ championship, bringing them ever closer.
In fact, at the end of the race, Lewis Hamilton declared that he noticed a Ferrari that was a little faster than in previous races, and that he had a bit of difficulty trying to resist. Frédéric Vasseur said he was satisfied with this match, underlining that he had given as much as possible to try to bring points home.
Leclerc was buzzin’ around Turn 2 with this mighty move on Russell 💪#F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/SzGAxm2Wv6
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 25, 2023
The past years
Over the last few years, both Ferrari and Mercedes have always fought for second place in the constructors’ championship. The German team very often got the better of the Italian team. For example, last season, the fight reached the final race of the world championship with Ferrari, thanks to Charles Leclerc who managed to defend second place.
There are currently 20 points separating Mercedes from Ferrari in the constructors’ standings. This year too, a fight awaits us until the last race. As important as the drivers’ classification may be, it is good to remember how important the constructors’ classification is too, as it has an economic importance for the team.
