Formula 1: Could Ferrari somehow salvage this disaster of a season?

By Asher Fair | Nov 26, 2020

Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, Formula 1 (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) /

After their best finish of the year at Intercity Istanbul Park in the Turkish Grand Prix, could Ferrari somehow manage to salvage this disaster of a 2020 Formula 1 season?

The 2020 Formula 1 season has been anything but kind to Ferrari, which entered the year with three consecutive runner-up finishes in the constructor standings behind Mercedes.

This disaster of a 2020 season had been somewhat masked by a few stellar performances out of Charles Leclerc, including a second place finish at the Red Bull Ring, third and fourth place finishes at Silverstone Circuit, a fourth place finish at Algarve International Circuit and a fifth place finish at Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari.

But four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel hadn’t finished a single one of the season’s first 13 races in the top five, and unsurprisingly, the team entered the Turkish Grand Prix at Intercity Istanbul Park in sixth place in the constructor standings.

Ferrari haven’t finished that low since they finished in 10th place all the way back in the 1980 Formula 1 season.

More from Formula One

However, the 58-lap race around the 14-turn, 3.317-mile (5.338-kilometer) road course in Tuzla, Turkey showed that they may be able to salvage this disaster of a 2020 season.

Vettel and Leclerc qualified in a disappointing 12th and 14th place, respectively, but they were strong on race day, and for the first time since last year’s Mexican Grand Prix at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, they both finished in the top four.

Following a chaotic sprint to the finish involving the Ferrari teammates and Racing Point’s Sergio Perez, Vettel finished in third place behind Perez, with Leclerc just behind his teammate in fourth.

This could end up being more than just a feel-good story. But will it be a true turning point in their season?

The battle for third place in the constructor standings behind Mercedes and Red Bull has been well-documented this season, given how close things have been between Racing Point, which are actually 15 points behind where they would be as a result of a penalty from earlier in the season, as well as McLaren and Renault.

Racing Point, then known as Force India, won the unofficial “best of the rest” title in 2016 and 2017 behind Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari, while Renault won it in 2018 and McLaren won it in 2019.

This year, they are battling for third place, not fourth. But could Ferrari end up salvaging what has been a disastrous 2020 season by stealing third away from this trio for what would be their sixth consecutive top three finish, 10th in the last 11 years and 25th in the last 27?

Don’t look now, but it should at least be close — far closer than it may have appeared just a few weeks ago when it looked as though AlphaTauri may end up challenging them for sixth place.

Here are the updated “best of the rest” standings, excluding the teams from seventh through 10th place.

Rank – Constructor: Points (Behind)
3rd – Racing Point-Mercedes: 154 (0)
4th – McLaren-Renault: 149 (-5)
5th – Renault: 136 (-18)
6th – Ferrari: 130 (-24)

Ferrari’s 3-4 finish in the Turkish Grand Prix suddenly has them in position to at least challenge for third place in the constructor standings.

Plus, that 3-4 finish could have easily been a 2-3 finish, considering Leclerc had actually been ahead of Perez in the final corners.

That alone would have netted Ferrari an additional six points and stripped six points away from Racing Point, which would have Ferrari now sitting 12 points behind Racing Point, not 24. McLaren would be in third place in the standings, one point ahead of Racing Point and 13 points ahead of Ferrari, and Ferrari would sit in a fifth place tie with Renault.

Alas, that didn’t happen.

But while 24 points is by no means a small margin, it can definitely still be made up over the course of three races, especially when you consider the fact that Leclerc is now on an impressive streak of six top eight results, something that only Perez and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton can also say, and Vettel just secured his first podium finish since last year’s Mexican Grand Prix.

The two races at Bahrain International Circuit, both the race on the regular layout and the race on the “oval” layout, likely won’t play to the strengths of the Scuderia given their lack of straight-line speed this season, and the season finale at Yas Marina Circuit has never been kind to them.

Next. Top 10 Formula 1 drivers of all-time. dark

But don’t discount them from this battle this soon. There’s a reason Leclerc has been in the mix for a top four finish in the driver standings all season long, and if he can continue to extract the most out of his car while Vettel can string together a few more solid results, it may just be within the realm of possibility.

Home/Formula One