Carlos Sainz's engine, engulfed in flames, breaks Ferrari's happy ending

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There is no quiet Sunday at Ferrari, nor full of happiness.

Not even on a day like today, when he had been showing that resounding, surprising superiority in the Red Bull lair.

There is no way that everything will go smoothly, because this victory by

coincided with the abandonment of

.

In the lost look of the man from Madrid, while the flames devoured his engine, a disappointment very similar to that of the thousands of followers of

was perceived .

The second place of

, ahead of

, does not fill such expectations.

Leclerc should not be detracted from, the fastest and most consistent, able to push to the checkered flag despite a mishap with the accelerator pedal.

Nothing can be said against this victory, so longed for in Maranello, but it still should have been better.

With 12 laps to go, with Sainz glued to Verstappen's rear wing, everyone took the double for sure.

There, unfortunately, the power unit of the SF-75 was smashed.

Leclerc hasn't won since Australia, nor has Ferrari won on this track since the days of

.

There is, therefore, reason for optimism in this very busy month, when Paul Ricard and the Hungaroring will still have to be visited.

, boss of the

, has to prevent Verstappen from going on vacation with half a title under his arm.

And incidentally improve the reliability of the car from him.

The incident with Tsunoda

well knows

, tenth at the finish line and once again a victim of friendly fire.

The double stop, during the

produced by the abandonment of Sainz, was a terrible braking for the Asturian, who had been showing a more than remarkable pace in his first two relays.

At noon, Alpine had changed its engine, which had been holding since Montmeló.

It was the right moment, since the subsequent penalty did not change the starting position, penultimate, just behind

.

Both, desperately, with hard tires.

And the comeback towards the points zone seemed really at hand.

Fernando came out unscathed from several very serious commitments.

In a multiple arrival with the Haas at turn 3 and in a dangerous episode against

, which made him step on the grass.

For the umpteenth weekend, the merits weighed less than the misfortune.

And as almost always,

, in his hundredth race, amassed the loot.

He ranked fifth, ahead of

, chosen driver of the day, after beating like a beast against Hamilton's Mercedes.

There was not a minute of rest for the faithful Orange Army.

It was a beautiful race, decided by tire management.

Perez abandonment

Initially, most of the grid rode the medium compound, waiting for data on degradation.

In the morning it had rained copiously, but when the traffic light went out, the risk of precipitation did not reach 10%.

Who needed that incentive?

Verstappen, of course not.

Leclerc, neither.

The leader of the World Cup came out in a stampede, but the Monegasque was not far behind.

Sainz, who had grudgingly put up with

's offense , could barely keep up.

Neither did

, sentenced to the pit after a touch with the Mercedes, for which the British received a five-second penalty.

There was excitement on the track.

And very classy notes from Leclerc, who showed up on the tenth lap before dropping the bite just two later.

A fabulous maneuver around the inside of turn 4 that Charles came out of like a shot.

It might seem early, but Red Bull stopped their leader on lap 14.

Of course there was a lot to discuss about strategy, where Red Bull had been leading by the hand since Monaco.

From the wall,

, built a two-stop run for

.

Perhaps desperately, given the pace of Ferrari.

The red superiority, precisely on the day that the happy

finally got rid of , was manifest.

Leclerc made it clear twice before Verstappen, who left the space without question.

But when Sainz pounced, Ferrari's happy ending was cut short.

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• Carlos Sainz Jr.

• Fernando Alonso

• Max Verstappen

• Sergio Perez

• Red Bull Racing