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FCA NEWSLETTER
DESERT REGION – LAS VEGAS CHAPTER
4th Quarter 2019 Pt 1/3

Written by John Ratto
Edited by Chuck Damus

The last quarter of 2019, home to the Holiday Season, was relatively quiet for the Club. Many were travelling or celebrating at home with family and long standing friends. The mainstay of this time for the Club is the Holiday Party, and that seemed to be a big success for all those that attended. As you read this, it is probably cold and dark outside, and it may actually even be raining. Thank you God for that moisture from the sky – we need it! But that only means that spring, and warmth but not heat, is just around the corner. And that means that new Club events are coming soon. We hope you will attend some or all, as we would love to see you.

OPENING COMMENTARY

The 4th quarter of 2019 began with rumblings that Congress would impeach the President, and it ends with impeachment proceedings moving forward. Where this all ends, no one knows. I doubt it will be anywhere significant. Meanwhile, the bipartisan condemnation arising from the abandonment of (our allies) the Kurds has mostly evaporated as other, new ‘hot topics’ have popped up.

While the vast field of Democratic presidential hopefuls has been somewhat thinned through attrition, enough new candidates have joined the fray to keep the field oversubscribed. Things have been relatively quiet for some time, but look for the action to resume soon as the primaries approach.

Having lived in China (the real China, the Communist mainland one, not Taiwan or Hong Kong), I find the most interesting of these new hot topics has been the unrest in Hong Kong. Based on firsthand experience, I can say with certainty that China is not a police state, as many of our politicians and journalists would have you believe. I would also say that the ‘typical’ Chinese man or woman ‘on-the-street’ is generally pretty happy with his/her government and the state of the country. This is likely due, in great part, to the great improvement in living conditions in China over the past 20-30 years. When things are getting better, and getting better fast, people tend to be contented. Yes, the government is far more intrusive and omnipresent there than here, but that is true in virtually every other country in the world. Meanwhile, the Chinese people (but not those living Hong Kong) have far more liberty and prosperity than they have ever before experienced. Those in Hong Kong on the other hand, see the national government tightening the strings on their liberties. I am most interested to see how this crisis plays out, and I would advise that we keep our noses out of the mess: if there is one thing the Chinese despise it is outside interference in running their country.

Enough politics and civics, let’s have a gander at the fun stuff the Club was involved in during the 4th quarter of 2019.

October 23: Social at Marche Bacchus

Maybe it was the proximity to Halloween, or maybe it was the sudden cold snap, or maybe it was just the turn of the season, but this event failed to generate much enthusiasm, as indicated by a sparse attendance and blasé reviews of the event itself. Apparently, the food was slow in arriving, and that exacerbated the chill in our bones. Oh well, they can’t all be great.

November 13: Board Meeting at Bravo Cucina in the Galleria Mall
Once again, we had a very nice turnout for a Board meeting, indicating perhaps that our members are quite interested in the inner workings of the Club. Or maybe they have heard that Board meetings are kinda fun, or maybe that this restaurant has some pretty good Italian food. In any case, all are welcome – so plan to attend one. The first order of business was discussion regarding the upcoming Holiday Party. Everything seemed set, with only minor details to be finalized. By the time you read this, the Party will be in the rear view mirror, but we hope you all enjoyed it. Then we progressed to the real business, nomination of board officers and directors for 2020. Unfortunately, a lot of familiar names are on the roster, including yours truly. Most of the new nominees are past board members, including Lindsey Freeman, Elda Fanucchi, and Chuck Damus. We really need some fresh blood – so please consider stepping up and joining the Club’s executive branch.’

December 7: Holiday Party at Towbin Motorcars

On a beautiful, balmy December Las Vegas evening many of the usual suspects gathered at Towbin Motorcars, our dealership, to celebrate the holiday season and the passing of another year. We must note the presence of two new members. Be sure to say a warm hello to Sandy and Katlyn Cornelius (California exiles, as many of us are) when you meet them on a future event. They are the proud owners of a 458 that Sandy was quick to point out is driven whenever possible, as is proved by the 20,000 plus miles already on its odometer. Moreover, this was also an opportunity to welcome back Al and Lorene Lindahl after an extended, illness forced absence. The food was good, the music perhaps a taste too loud, and the comradery palpable. It certainly seemed that a good night and a good time were had by all.

Well, I am embarrassed to say that, other than a Board Meeting scheduled for January 8th, the cupboard is bare. That puts the onus on you dear member to find our website – ferrariclubvegas.com – and periodically check the Calendar for new events. We hope to see you there.

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FCA NEWSLETTER
DESERT REGION – LAS VEGAS CHAPTER
4th Quarter 2019 Pt 2/3

FORMULA 1 NEWS

The Situation in Early October

With Ferrari suddenly resurgent, and then not quite so resurgent, and a bunch of exciting races recently highly contested, things are looking pretty good for a great finish to the season. But, let’s be realistic, both the drivers’ and the constructors’ championships are all but decided. With 16 (of 21) races are in the books, the points situation looks like this:

Drivers

Hamilton 309 … Bottas 239 …Verstappen 197 … Leclerc 197…Vettel 169

Manufacturers

Mercedes GP 548 … Ferrari 366 … Red Bull 286

While there is still hope, it is slimmer than slim. But that doesn’t mean that there won’t be some great racing from now until the season ends.

October 13: GP of Japan at Suzuka (17)

This 3.6 mile track rewards high downforce (advantage Mercedes and Red Bull) but also demands high speed (advantage Ferrari). Thus, as might be expected, the times during Practice were quite close, with Mercedes generally at the top of the heap. But, an impending typhoon was the major subject of discussion. In response, the organizers cancelled Free Practice 3 and postponed Qualifying (both scheduled for Saturday). After the typhoon moved on, Qualifying was run on Sunday morning, four hours before the start of the race.

Sunday morning was cloudy, but clearing; Qualifying was conducted without major incident, or any more rain. However, it was still very windy and the track was ‘green’ (the rubber on the track had been washed away by the rain), meaning grip was low. Combined with the lack of practice, a few off road excursions that delayed the proceedings were no surprise. The results were a big surprise: Vettel, Leclerc, Bottas, Hamilton, Verstappen, and Albon, with everyone on soft tires. Where had Ferrari found its pace? Where had Vettel found his pace? Could Ferrari maintain its pace during the race?

By race time early Sunday afternoon, the weather was sunny and warm, and the wind had died down considerably. What typhoon? Vettel made a terrible start and was passed immediately by Bottas. Leclerc’s start wasn’t much better, putting him under severe pressure from Verstappen; the two fought for position in turn 1, and collided. Verstappen’s car suffered the greater long term damage; he eventually retired at lap 15. Leclerc suffered severe damage to his front wing, which slowly disintegrated piece by piece as he (incomprehensively) attempted to continue, which he managed to do for a few laps with his wing dragging and shedding shards of carbon fiber. He was forced to the pits on lap 4 and returned at the rear of the field. When you combine these significant occurrences with several other lesser comings together, the first lap could definitely be considered eventful.

After things settled down a bit, the running order at lap 10 was Bottas, Vettel, Hamilton, Sainz (McLaren), and Albon. Leclerc, making his way back towards the front, was 16th. At this point Hamilton began to edge up on Vettel, preparing to challenge the German for second place.

Albon was the first of the leaders to stop for new tires (lap 15), and the others followed soon thereafter. While most everyone opted to change to the medium rubber, thus fulfilling the requirement to use two of the three available compounds, Vettel chose to mount a second set of the soft rubber, meaning he would need to stop again. Leclerc, who had stopped on lap four (for a new wing and fresh tires), was the last of the leaders to stop (lap 26). Having already used both the mediums and the softs, he chose the soft rubber for his third set of tires. By this time, virtually all had stopped and the field was quite spread out; the running order was Bottas, Vettel, Hamilton, and Albon, with Leclerc in 10th. A period of intense racing followed, especially between the cars occupying 7th through 14th place, with many battles and passes throughout the field. Leclerc’s progress through the field is worthy of special note; he was soon up to 6th place and closing fast on the leaders. Meanwhile, Vettel made a second stop (lap 32) for medium tires; soon thereafter he was joined in the two stop group by Albon and Bottas. Hamilton (now leading by a comfortable margin, but with aging tires and slowing lap times) was the last to concede that one stop would not be sufficient; he made his second stop on lap 42, choosing the soft tires. But, by then, he had lost time and only managed to rejoin the fray 5 seconds behind Vettel and 15 seconds behind Bottas.

On his new tires, Hamilton quickly (by lap 47) caught Vettel and then repeatedly tried to pass the Ferrari for second place. But Vettel fought for all of his worth, refusing to let the Mercedes by. This battle raged lap-after-lap, with neither of the multi-time world champions giving an inch…excellent racing! Six laps later (lap 53) the race ended with Hamilton still unable to do the deed. The finishing order was Bottas, Vettel, Hamilton Albon, Sainz (McLaren), Leclerc, and Ricciardo. Unfortunately for Leclerc, after the conclusion of the race he was assessed 15 seconds of penalties for the lap one encounter with Verstappen and for driving unsafely with his damaged front wing after the collision. The 15 seconds dropped him to seventh place, behind Ricciardo.

It just simply bears repeating: Mercedes seems able to find a way to win when it should lose, while Ferrari seems to find a way to lose when it should win…very frustrating.

October 27: GP of Mexico (18)

This short, 2.7 mile track is located in central Mexico, near the capital (population 21 million). As such, it is at very high elevation (more than 7,500 feet), meaning that the air is thin. With little oxygen to burn, horsepower is down, as is aerodynamic downforce, meaning the cars will be sliding, the brakes won’t be working, and the tires will be degrading fast. In contrast to all of that negativity, the track is very fast, with average lap speeds around 130 mph, and top speeds well over 220 mph. Oh, intermittent rain was forecast throughout the weekend. In other words, things might get very interesting.

After all of this anticipation, not much happened in any of the three Practice sessions. Overnight rains resulted in wet mornings and some serious slipping and sliding (and a few big spins and crashes), but nothing that couldn’t be fixed. The Ferraris looked like the class of the field.

Qualifying brought clearing skies and warmer temperatures. All of the top 6 ran the medium tires in Q2, meaning those were the tires they would use at the start of the race. Bottas spun and had a massive crash at the end of Q3 that terminated the session; as a result none of the fast guys’ fastest times were counted. The qualifying order was Verstappen, Leclerc, Vettel, Hamilton, Albon, and Bottas. Long after Qualifying was in the books, Verstappen was given a three spot grid penalty for not slowing quickly enough when a yellow flag was waved. To say he was livid would be an understatement. He started fourth.

By Sunday afternoon race time, skies were blue and temperatures were hot. It had again rained overnight, washing away the built-up rubber and reducing grip. How this would affect tire degradation was a mystery. The start was pretty much uneventful, with only a bump between Vettel and Hamilton of note. But, after the dicing of the first lap there were major changes in the running order: Leclerc, Vettel, Albon, Sainz, Hamilton, Norris, Bottas, and Verstappen, who by this time must have been furious to see his pole position dissolve to 8th place so quickly. In response he attempted (lap 5) to force his way past Bottas, which led to a back-and-forth battle for seventh place that ultimately resulted in a punctured tire and a trip to pits for Mad Max. He rejoined in last place on hard compound tires. Meanwhile, Hamilton passed Sainz, and Bottas passed both Norris and Sainz. The race was on.

The drivers in the field who had started on the soft rubber began making pit stops at lap 10. They mostly chose the hard tires for their second stints. As the laps ticked by, it became obvious that closely following a car ahead would be problematic because of ensuing high temperatures, both engine and brakes, in the following car. Albon and Leclerc, who had started on medium tires, made their first stops at about lap 15. They opted for new medium tires, meaning they would need to stop again. Meanwhile, Hamilton, Bottas, and Vettel continued to lap on their original medium tires: Hamilton delayed his pit stop to lap 24, while Bottas and Vettel soldiered on until lap 37: all three chose to mount the hard tires, hoping they would make it to the end of the 71 lap race. Leclerc and Albon made their second stops around lap 44, also choosing to continue on hard tires. With the dust settled and everyone ready for a fight to the finish, the running order was Hamilton, Vettel, Bottas, Leclerc, and Albon. Verstappen was 7th after working his way up through the field.

At this point, the front runners were very close together, with about 5 seconds covering the top four. Hamilton was in the lead, but he was on older tires than both Vettel and Bottas, who were close on his tail. It looked like an exciting conclusion was in store. But it didn’t happen. As mentioned before, following another car closely in hopes of passing caused overheating. Unfortunately, as a consequence, a parade to the finish ensued with little to note transpiring. The finishing order was Hamilton, Vettel, Bottas, Leclerc, Albon, and Verstappen.

There really isn’t much to say about this race. The pace of the leading cars was very close which, along with the over-heating issues, made it difficult to pass. Even in hindsight, there was no clear cut strategy advantage. In the end, Mr. Lucky prevailed again. When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

November 3: GP of the United States (19)

With the season coming to a close and most of the big questions either answered or essentially answered, the F1 circus finally ventured to Austin for the US Grand Prix. And, something unexpected, for Texas, was encountered – cold. And something else unexpected was encountered – a very bumpy track due to recent differential settlement. But, our brave lads soldiered on and the race proceeded.

Given the conditions, the cars were driven with a bit of circumspect in Practice 1 and 2, no one wanted to damage their steeds over the wavy surface. But, as the Practice laps droned by, everyone became more confident and lap times dropped. By Practice 3 on Saturday morning, when temperatures were significantly higher than Friday, the competition was on. And, the competition was close; there was little to choose between Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull.

Qualifying was even warmer, but windy, which seemed to affect some cars more than others. Most of the fast guys (Albon – on softs – excepted) ran Q2 on the medium tires so they could use them for the start of the race. The rest of the field was split, some on softs, some on mediums, and some on hards! This indicates that opinions as to tire wear versus lap times, and the number of stops that would be necessary, were varied, which would make the race more interesting. In any case, everyone was on softs for Q3 and the big battle for pole. In the end, the top spots were of no real surprise, but they did show how close the top teams were: Bottas, Vettel, Verstappen, Leclerc, Hamilton, and Albon. Just over 1/10 of a second covered the top four!

Normal Texas weather, hot and very windy, finally arrived just in time for race day. How these different conditions would affect the cars and their tires was yet to be determined. It was a pretty clean start, but not a good one for the Ferraris who failed to maintain their grid positions. Moreover, virtually immediately, Vettel began to complain that his car was driving poorly and had no grip. Moreover, there seemed to be no apparent cause for his woes. It was no surprise then that he fell further down the order than anyone else at the front. At the end of lap 1 the running order was Bottas, Verstappen, Hamilton, Leclerc, Norris (McLaren), and Vettel. Albon was in the pits after a small shunt with Sainz in the second McLaren. As the early laps rolled on, Vettel continued to complain, and on lap 8 the cause of his woes became quite apparent: the rear suspension of the Ferrari failed in spectacular fashion and Vettel was out of the fray. The question arises: was the failure due to the many laps run over the bumpy track? Was it due to fatigue in the suspension part that failed? Was it due to a combination of the two (most likely answer)?

Verstappen (lap 14) was the first of the front runners to stop for tires, switching from mediums to hards, hoping they could make it to the end of the 56 lap race. Bottas (lap 15), Leclerc (lap 21), and Hamilton (lap 24) followed his lead. So, by lap 25 all of the remaining contenders had stopped and the running order was Bottas, Verstappen, Hamilton, and Leclerc. Albon, after his pit stop and some aggressive driving, was back to 11th.

But, the plans of the leaders were soon dashed. By lap 35, with still 20 laps remaining, their hard tires were dying, forcing them to make a second stop. Verstappen and Bottas stopped at this point (switching to mediums), while Leclerc soldiered on to lap 43 before stopping, so that he could make his last stint on the soft rubber. Given that he was 20 seconds or so behind the leaders, a different strategy was his only hope. And so, the race was on. The question: could Bottas, Verstappen or Leclerc (all on far newer, and softer, tires) catch the leader (Hamilton) on his aging hard rubber. Bottas was sniffing his teammate’s tailpipe by lap 45, but he was having problems trying to follow closely. On lap 51, with nothing to lose, Bottas made a serious attempt to pass. It failed and the two Mercedes almost crashed. Bottas persisted and (on lap 52) forced his way to the front with a very aggressive move. The final finishing order was Bottas, Hamilton, Verstappen, and Leclerc, all in close proximity.

With this result, Hamilton wins his 6th world championship. Only Michael Schumacher (with 7) has more…aahh, the grand old days.

Also with this result it has become obvious that whatever advantage Ferrari gained during the summer break has dissipated to nothing. Mercedes is once again fastest.

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FCA NEWSLETTER
DESERT REGION – LAS VEGAS CHAPTER
4th Quarter 2019 Pt 3/3

November 17: GP of Brazil (20)

The Interlagos track, located outside Sao Paulo, is relatively short (2.7 miles) and pretty fast; laps were being turned in less than 1 minute and 10 seconds while speeds topped 215 mph. But nothing like that was being achieved in Practice 1, when the rain was pouring down. Instead the cars were tip-toeing around, trying to gather pertinent data without damaging the bodywork. Meanwhile, some important information was coming from behind the pit wall: Albon will return in the Red Bull in 2020, and Pierre Gasly and Danny Kvyat will do the same at Toro Rosso. It was also announced that Charles Leclerc was given a 10 spot grid penalty for changing his engine.

Weather conditions improved for Practice 2 and 3, but continued to be problematic. There was finally some sun for P3 on Saturday morning, but the track was still quite damp. The only thing that could be said was that the times were very close. Qualifying was still cool, but at least everything had dried out. Leclerc, with his penalty, decided to start the race on medium tires (everyone else of note would be on softs) and still managed to make it to Q3. The Qualifying order was Verstappen, Vettel, Hamilton, Leclerc (penalized to 14th on the grid), Bottas, and Albon.

Race day was sunny, warm, and very windy, meaning that tires would not last as long as might have been projected based upon data gathered during Practice. In a daring move at the start, Hamilton immediately passed Vettel; meanwhile, Leclerc (from 14th) attempted to, and finally did, pass Norris after a tense fight. From that point onward, Leclerc sliced through the field and was 6th by lap 10. At the front, Verstappen, in the lead, was slowly pulling away from Hamilton in second. So, the topic of discussion became strategy and pit stops, would two be necessary or could the race be won making only one tire change.

Hamilton (to another set of softs), Verstappen (ditto), Albon (mediums), Vettel (mediums), and Bottas (hards) all stopped (in that order) for new tires between lap 21 and 27. Leclerc continued to lap 30 on his fading medium tires and opted to switch to the hards. Clearly, there was a wide divergence in strategy. Which would prove to be best? After all the leaders had made their first (and for some perhaps only) stops, the running order was Verstappen (clearly the fastest car in the field), Hamilton, Vettel, Bottas, Leclerc, and Albon.

By lap 40 it was becoming very clear that one stop was not going to cut it, and, between laps 42 and 45, Bottas, Hamilton, and Verstappen all stopped for a second time; they all opted to continue (finish) on medium tires. After these stops, the running order was Vettel (having stopped only once), Verstappen, Hamilton, Albon (one stop), Leclerc (one stop and hoping to make his hard tires go to the end), and Bottas. Bottas, on new medium rubber was clearly quicker than Leclerc, and he set about getting by the Ferrari. Despite many strong attempts – it was a wonderful battle to behold – Bottas could not make a pass stick, and then had his engine overheat and detonate to reward his efforts (lap 53). Both Albon and Vettel made their second stops on lap 50, after which the running order was Verstappen (mediums), Hamilton (mediums), Vettel (mediums), Leclerc (hards), and Albon (softs). All had made two stops except Leclerc.

Then the wild card was dealt: the safety car was deployed on lap 54 (for Bottas’ car), slowing and bunching the field, and prompting Verstappen and Albon to make a third stop, and Leclerc to make a second. When racing resumed after a long break, the order was Hamilton, Verstappen, Vettel, Albon, and Leclerc. But that didn’t last long as Verstappen on new tires just simply blew by Hamilton to retake the lead, while Albon passed Vettel. Vettel attempted to re-pass the Red Bull, but failed, and then seemed to lose concentration for a moment, allowing his teammate (Leclerc, on new tires) to pass him easily. Then the disaster card was dealt: Vettel tried to repass Leclerc and the two Ferraris collided. Both were out with only 5 laps to go! This prompted the Safety Car to be deployed again, which led Hamilton to make an ill-advised third stop for new soft tires. He rejoined in 5th and while he managed to get by several cars in the final laps, he collided with Albon (who spun and finished 15th) to thwart his hopes for the race win. The surprising final order was Verstappen, Gasly (Toro Rosso), Hamilton (who was subsequently penalized for his collision with Albon), Sainz, and Raikkonen.

Pit stop strategy scrambled the field, but in the end Verstappen and Hamilton climbed the podium, pretty much as expected. But the failure to finish by Bottas, Vettel, and Leclerc resulted in some unusual names in the top 5.

So we come to the Vettel-Leclerc collision. While the merits and faults of both were debated, the pundits concluded that neither was fully at fault or fully innocent. However, in the eyes of Ferrari, and of Ferrari fans, Vettel must be seen as the clear perpetrator of the crime. He had already attempted and failed to pass Albon, and Leclerc (clearly faster on fresher tires) had easily passed Vettel just moments prior to their crash. Vettel was only able to attempt to regain his position because he had the DRS advantage. He should have let Leclerc by so that he could try to pass Albon. That was the move that a teammate should make. Instead, Vettel precipitated a crash that eliminated both Ferraris. Simply inexcusable.

December 1: GP of Abu Dhabi

So…finally…we come to the last race of the season. With all of the championships decided, only pride and bragging rights were at stake, and the only imperative was to put on a good show for the fans. The Yas Marina circuit is home to Ferrari World, an internationally famous theme park; but this race has been no friend to Ferrari, which has never won here. Since the site is in the ferociously hot Middle East, the 55 lap race is run at night, while the Practice sessions and Qualifying are held in the late afternoon. The track is long (3.4 miles) and fast (laps under 1:40 are common).The Practice sessions were mostly run without incident. The teams seemed to generally ignore them because the afternoon temperature conditions would be so different from those during the actual race. One, or really two, things of interest did occur: Bottas had two engine failures. He was relegated to starting from last place. Qualifying was also pretty much uneventful. The only tidbit of interest concerned Vettel’s decision to start on the soft tires while all of the other top runners opted for the mediums. The Qualifying order was Hamilton, Bottas (who would be penalized to last), Verstappen, Leclerc, Vettel, and Albon. Then, a potential bombshell: the stewards found that Ferrari had declared a significantly different fuel level than was actually present in Leclerc’s car. While the information provided was scant, there was talk that Leclerc might be disqualified. In the end, sane minds prevailed and Ferrari was handed a stiff fine for the seemingly innocent error.

The start was clean and uneventful except for Leclerc’s bold pass of Verstappen for second place. Immediately thereafter, Verstappen came under high pressure from Vettel, and these two battled for a few laps before the Ferrari dropped back to reassess the situation and save its tires. Meanwhile, Hamilton was slowly pulling away from the rest of the field. At lap 5 the running order was Hamilton, Leclerc, Verstappen, Vettel, and Albon. Bottas had clawed his way up to 11th.

Pit stops began on lap 12, with Ricciardo, Leclerc, Vettel, and Albon stopping in quick succession. All opted to continue on the hard tires. Conversely, Verstappen, Hamilton, and Bottas delayed their first stops to laps 25 – 30, but they too chose the hard tires for their second stints. After all the leaders had stopped, the running order was Hamilton, Leclerc, Verstappen, Vettel, Albon, and Bottas. Beginning on lap 32, Verstappen mounted an attack on Leclerc, and finally managed to get by the Ferrari a few laps later. Leclerc made a valiant effort to get second place back, but ultimately failed to do so. By lap 38, it was becoming obvious that the hard tires would not make it to the end for those who had stopped early (around lap 13), and they began to make second pit stops. Leclerc stopped and continued on soft tires, while Vettel chose to continue on mediums. From there to the end not much of significance occurred. At this point Leclerc and Vettel (on newer, softer tires) were the fastest cars on the track, but they were too far behind to catch and pass most of the cars ahead of them, although Vettel did manage to pass Albon. The final finishing order was Hamilton, Verstappen, Leclerc, Bottas, Vettel, and Albon.

With this relatively uneventful race, the season ended with a whimper rather than a bang.

Wrap-Up – Races 17 through 21

Given its excellent showing after the summer break, Ferrari entered the final portion of the season with great hopes to go out with a bang. But the sizzle failed to materialize. Mercedes circled its wagons and was once more king of the rodeo. And Red Bull (or at least Mad Max Verstappen) was suddenly in position to claim title to best of the rest. Hamilton and Mercedes won the championships handily, and Ferrari’s top driver was only fourth in the points.

Formula 1 2019 in Review

For Ferrari, 2019 must be viewed as a great disappointment. We can easily recall winter testing, when it seemed that Ferrari would be the class of the field. Back then, everyone seemed to agree that 2019 would be the year for an Italian renaissance. It wasn’t to be: instead Mercedes dominated the early portion of the season while Ferrari staggered about wondering what had happened.

Then, after the summer break, hope sprang up again. Maybe not hope for the championship, that boat had sailed. But hope for a strong finish was in the air as the Ferraris headed the field in several races. Once again, though, those red dreams faded as Mercedes rededicated its efforts and slowly took back the advantage as the season dwindled to a close.

So, another very disappointing season. The cars themselves were very fast in a straight line, but clearly slower than both the Mercedes and the Red Bulls in the corners. Of perhaps even greater importance was that the Ferraris used up their tires (due to lack of traction in the corners?) faster than both the other top teams.

As the laps ticked off, the Ferraris became progressively slower than the competition. This is an aerodynamic problem that must be addressed in next year’s car.

As for the drivers, Vettel was certainly partly to blame for Ferrari’s failure to score points in 2019. During the middle third of the season he seemed to lose his passion for the sport…and his concentration; at times he seemed to be in a daze. In the final third of the season he sporadically regained his fire, but only at certain races and in certain circumstances, as the long season petered out. He must either return for 2020 with passion, or consider retiring…or Ferrari should begin to ponder replacing him. Leclerc, on the other hand, performed better than could have been expected. From the beginning of the season he challenged Vettel in both speed and race craft. The only fault I find with him is that he seems a bit of a cry-baby…when things don’t go his way, he whines. I say to him, “That is the time to bear down and drive faster, not cry about what happened 6 laps ago.” Nevertheless, he outscored Vettel in the drivers’ championship, a result that would have seemed impossible before the season began.

So, let’s have a look at the points situation at season’s end:

Drivers

Hamilton 387…Bottas 314…Verstappen 260…Leclerc…249…Vettel 230

Manufacturers

Mercedes GP 701 … Ferrari 479 … Red Bull 391 … McLaren 140

What is that I see, McLaren finished fourth in the constructors’ championship? Yes, the orange cars are back, and Formula 1 will be more exciting for it. But that just means that there will be more dogs fighting for the points and the podiums next year.

And so once again, we must satisfy ourselves with the convenient balm…WAIT ‘TIL NEXT YEAR!!