(Motorsport) It has been a case of ‘so close yet so far’ for Scuderia Ferrari and Charles Leclerc this season despite consistently doing better than Red Bull Racing in qualifying. When he crossed the chequered flag at the Austrian GP, Leclerc was visibly relieved and said “I definitely needed that”. The Monegasque driver is 38 points behind reigning champion Max Verstappen and will now look for consistency from himself and his team to seriously compete for the Championship. 

Such has been Scuderia Ferrari’s downfall that Leclerc was 19 points ahead of Verstappen at the Spanish Grand Prix but the 24 year old suffered an engine failure, resulting in penalties due to engine changes at the Canadian Grand Prix. The team has also failed Leclerc in terms of race strategy in Baku, Monaco and Silverstone. However, if the Austrian GP is anything to go by, Ferrari seem to have turned a corner and not only had a clear strategy against Verstappen but better straight line speed than Red Bull. Combined with Leclerc’s calm and composed style, a win in Austria was inevitable for the Monegasque driver and Formula 1’s most successful team in history. The question remains though, can they maintain their title charge throughout the season?

In Austria, Verstappen suffered from tyre degradation which proved to be his undoing. Speaking after the race, Verstappen said “I expected it to be tough today, but I didn't expect it to be like this. It's just something we need to analyse and understand." It could have been worse for the Dutch driver who only lost 5 points while his teammate Sergio Perez failed to secure any points. It can be said that winning in Austria was not just a statement win for Charles Leclerc but also Scuderia Ferrari who will undoubtedly look to build on their lead.

One of the biggest concerns for Ferrari would be their reliability issues, which was evident once again in Austria as Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari caught fire due to engine problems. This was Ferrari’s fourth mechanical failure this season which has greatly hurt the Italian manufacturer, especially in the Constructors Standing and a gap of 56 points is a poor reflection for the team. Such was the concern in Ferrari’s camp that team principal Mattia Binotto couldn’t watch the final three laps due to fear of Leclerc suffering the same fate. Binotto said “It is certainly a concern. But the people back in Maranello are working very hard trying to fix them." 

Also read: Charles Leclerc pips Max Verstappen to win the Austrian GP