Leo Turini: SF25 – Rubik's Cube on four wheels

      As one might expect, the recent enthusiasm of the Italian fans over Lewis Hamilton's victory in the sprint after yesterday's events was replaced by almost decadent sentiments, which Leo Turini expressed in his own way in his regular column ...

      Let's start with the worst.

      Double disqualification. For two different reasons.

      I exclude malicious intent, there was no intention to deceive anyone.

      But let's call a spade a spade: this is all serious, very serious. There was one positive moment, and that's if you can call it that: I suddenly remembered the events that took place in Sepang in the fall of 1999, when I was about 26 years younger. After that race, Eddie Irvine and Michael Schumacher were also disqualified, but Ferrari appealed, and everything ended in victory.

      I cannot recall any other similar cases in the history of the red team. And I think that Frederic Wasser does not deserve to go down in the history of the Scuderia in such an unenviable way.

      Let's go further. In my humble opinion, the double disqualification is a consequence of the design features of the SF25. This car was born in agony, and that's an understatement. It is very difficult to set up. It's some kind of Rubik's cube on four wheels.

      At one time, I did not hide my doubts (based on insider information) about the expediency of choosing some technical solutions embodied in the design of this machine.

      And let's face it: McLaren had the best car at the end of last year's championship. But Ferrari wasn't that far behind.

      However, for some reason you decide to choose a new direction in working with the chassis, and after two races of the new season you have as many points as Williams. Just don't tell me that you're conducting experiments with an eye on 2026. With all due respect, this is complete nonsense.

      Let's try to find a balance: if it weren't for Lewis' magnificent victory in the sprint, it would have been a complete disaster, a real tragedy. And I don't care about 2026, it's still 22 races away.

      I would prefer that the team not make mistakes with either the weight of the car or the control bar under the SF25, and that they choose the right tactics – by the way, it is probably the choice of tactics that explains why Leclair and Hamilton were so dangerously close on the track at the start of both races.

      Is all this really so difficult to achieve? I want the engineers of Scuderia, while solving technical problems, to make every effort to fix everything that does not work.

      Because that's exactly the essence of the slogan "essereFerrari" ("being a Ferrari"). Otherwise, I'm sorry, but I'm not at the age to believe all kinds of explanations, excuses, and promises.

      And one last thing.

      It's even funny that someone is surprised by such a sharp and indignant reaction to this nightmarish start of the season. If you are one of the most famous brands in the world, a legend of motorsport; if you invite a great racer who has broken most of the statistical records, and if your team fought for the Constructors' Cup until the last meters of the last race of the previous season, well, it is quite obvious that now you are openly being framed.  

      If you have earned only 17 points after two rounds of the championship, what do you expect? To "red wine and champagne," as the old Barbera e champagne song by Giorgio Gabera says?

      But it seems that Maranello believes that everything is going well. However, if Ferrari finds itself in such a situation, it cannot be called normal.

      By the way, in the chorus of that song there are these words:

      "Today we drink red wine and champagne –

      I am because of my unhappy love.",

      You're here because of yours. We drink to our common sorrows..."