Charles Leclerc is gaining confidence with his superior car while Max Verstappen struggles with the balance of his at Red Bull
Charles Leclerc’s dominant win in Melbourne was a consummate display but his Ferrari was truly the class of the field. It is well balanced, versatile, quick through the corners, easy on the tyres and the engine is a powerful beast. Having written off last year and thrown everything into developing this season’s model there must be no little sense of satisfaction at Maranello. The task for Ferrari now is not to throw it away. The challenge for the engineers this season is going to be a fierce development war, as with the new regulations there will be gains to be found all season, and the team that finds them quickest will have the whip hand. Ferrari have been here before in 2017 and 2018 when their car opened as the quickest on the grid but was outpaced by Mercedes’ advances as the season went on, a setback compounded by team and driver errors. If they are to take the title the team have to be firing at maximum capacity on every level in a pressure-cooker environment, a fascinating prospect.