Luigi Mazzola/ex-Ferrari: Verstappen wouldn’t be any faster than Leclerc either

Ferrari tried everything in Singapore to prevent Max Verstappen from securing his 73rd Grand Prix victory. It didn’t work.

Charles Leclerc, who finished second, said after the night race: “The only thing I’d criticise myself for is that I was perhaps not aggressive enough against Max after the start.”

There, Verstappen resolutely fought his way past Leclerc, who’d got off to a better start, and thus remained in the lead; this laid the foundation for the 29-year-old Dutchman’s start-to-finish victory.

Luigi Mazzola worked at Ferrari from 1988 to 2009. As head of the test team, he played a key role in Ferrari’s rise to prominence, which culminated in Michael Schumacher’s five consecutive World Championship titles from 2000 to 2004. Back then, testing was unrestrained, and a relationship of trust developed between Schumi and the Italian engineer.

Luigi Mazzola

Foto: XPB

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Today, Mazzola works as a business consultant and mental coach. Naturally, even without a job in the top flight, he still follows Ferrari’s progress very closely. After the Singapore Grand Prix, he spoke on the programme ‘Race Anatomy’ on Italy’s Sky.

Former Italian Grand Prix drivers Riccardo Patrese and Ivan Capelli believe that with Max Verstappen, Ferrari would win more often.

But 64-year-old Mazzola disagrees: “Verstappen was bold at the start, but he also had a car and brakes that allowed him to pull off that manoeuvre. But in my opinion, Verstappen wouldn’t fare any better than Leclerc at the wheel of this Ferrari. With the right car, the Monegasque is certainly capable of winning races.”