Mekies assures him: “the atmosphere is good” at Ferrari

True statement or Coué method? At the house of Ferrari, we make a series of “positive” declarations during this summer period. A few days later Mattia Binotto's comments regarding the tactical aspect of the Scuderia, it's Laurent Mekies' turn to reassure the mood in Maranello. “The atmosphere is good, because people like Charles [Leclerc], Carlos [Sainz] and Mattia [Binotto] lead the team in all situations, declared the race director within the Italian team. You have good times, you have bad times, and I think the difference comes from that kind of leadership. They are able, no matter what, to hit the “reset” button, bring everyone together, look at what happened, learn from it and start the next race with the smile and with more motivation than the previous race. »

Since the start of the 2022 season, Ferrari has multiplied the missed opportunities. Often very competitive in pure rhythm, the Scuderia has failed to achieve success on several occasions. With only 3 victories in 13 races (compared to 10 for Red Bull), the Prancing Horse firm stood out above all for the various errors made in the Grands Prix. Failed strategies, poor reliability, accidents: the Italian team has experienced it all and finds itself left behind in both championships. With 9 Grands Prix remaining on the calendar, title hopes are already very slim.

Mekies defends its drivers

Laurent Mekies also came to the bedside of his two pilots, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc. The Spaniard had a long difficult period before recovering and winning his first Grand Prix at Silverstone. “At first it came from Carlos' ability to analyze what the car is doing and what he needs from it. Then, not only is he able to feel it, but he is also able to communicate his feelings to the engineers. Slowly we were able to turn that into actions in the way we tune the car. (…) You're never sure it's going to produce the results you hope for until you actually see them, added Laurent Mekies. It is positive information for us to see that the trend is upward. »

The Monegasque, after a thunderous start to the season, experienced various mishaps and lost several dozen points, notably in France with a costly accident. Laurent Mekies only prefers to remember pure performances and excused Charles Leclerc's errors. “He showed such exceptional speed again this year (…). Charles doesn't need us to understand where he needs to go to reach the limit, said the French engineer. He is a master at this and, as we all do, mistakes happen. We don't look at isolated mistakes, we look at the success rate, how well you are able to do things. I think his performances this year have been very impressive. We don't want him to change anything. »

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