What Must Ferrari Do to Beat Mercedes?

“Charles did a remarkable job. Ferrari did a remarkable job. I don't think we expected them to be as close as they were, just like in Spain. Things went a bit awry. But I think ultimately, Mercedes still has the edge,” Hinchcliffe explained. “I think if they can get on top of the reliability issues, strategy, and things like that, they have two great drivers, a great car, a great power unit, and they're definitely going into Belgium as favorites. As much as I hate this philosophy in theory, if Ferrari has any chance, I think they have to back one driver. And right now, given the gap between Charles and Lewis, they have to back Lewis. Fortunately, Charles is fast enough. Go back to last year – it was Max against the two McLarens, right? They were taking points off each other, which helped him, but he didn't have a teammate helping him by hindering and taking points from both their rivals. In Ferrari's case right now, they have two drivers performing at a very high level. And if they decide to do what we know Ferrari has no problem doing and has done many times in the past, that's their best chance. It's still unlikely, but it's their best chance,” the Canadian added.

“I agree. It was impressive that they were so competitive at Silverstone. That's a good sign that they'll be competitive on a wider range of tracks, but still, looking ahead to Spa, we think Mercedes will have the advantage. I think it was great that Leclerc was fast. It was brilliant for him and his confidence to win the race. For me, it was impressive to see that when Ferrari won this time, especially at the start of the race, there were two Ferrari cars out front against one Mercedes. When we look at Barcelona, there were two Mercedes and one Ferrari, and Leclerc wasn't there for the race. Obviously, he crashed in qualifying, but at that point, he didn't have the pace or consistency. So his presence in the fight is obviously brilliant,” said the former driver and current F1 TV lead analyst.