The fallout from the Chinese Grand Prix continues to roll in, including the Italian press reaction to Ferrari’s galling double disqualification and an injury admission by Fernando Alonso
The Formula 1 season has begun with a bang. The first two race weekends are in the books, a wet and wild Australian Grand Prix followed up by the first sprint event of the season in Shanghai.
The latter was one to forget for Ferrari, of course. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were both disqualified hours after the Grand Prix because their cars were found to be illegal – the first time Ferrari have ever had both cars kicked out of a race – which rather took the shine off Hamilton’s first win with the team in the sprint race.
The Italian press never shy away from speaking their minds about any given situation at Ferrari and so, naturally, they’ve made their feelings clear about the debacle. Elsewhere, Fernando Alonso has admitted he is currently carrying an injury, and Oliver Bearman has provided an exciting update about what the next few weeks might have in store for Haas.
Here, Mirror Sport has compiled some of the latest key stories from the F1 world.
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No tutto bene at Ferrari
Ah, the Italian press. No-one can deny the sports papers over there are passionate about Ferrari and that always mean the peaks and the troughs are rather dramatic when it comes to their reporting of the highs and the lows of the Scuderia’s efforts.
So it’s unsurprising to see many of the papers carrying particularly striking headlines in the aftermath of Ferrari’s galling double disqualification in Shanghai. That includes Corriere dello Sport which spoke about “a black day in China”, and Gazzetta dello Sport which declared the affair: “One of the ugliest pages in the history of the Prancing Horse.”
Alonso’s injury admission
It hasn’t been a great couple of weeks for Fernando Alonso. He hasn’t yet scored a point this season, having failed to finish both Grands Prix so far. And to make matter worse, he’s now admitted he’s carrying an injury.
“I was wearing some neck protection because I’ve had a pinched nerve or something these past few days,” he told Spanish media after the Shanghai race. Sore necks are no laughing matter for F1 drivers given the strain placed on that part of their body by the huge G-forces their body feels while driving and cornering at speed.
Bullish Bearman
After Melbourne, it all looked a bit bleak for Haas. They were miles off the pace and when that happens in the first race it always raises concerns that it’s going to be a very long year. But they were much more competitive in Shanghai and both their drivers scored their first points of the season.
So Oliver Bearman is off the mark as a full-time F1 driver now and the British teenager celebrated that by suggesting he expects the team to continue to be more competitive over the coming races. “I think we can continue a decent level of form for the next few races,” he beamed.
Russell remains wary
Another Brit who is pretty happy with their situation right now is George Russell. He’s been on the podium at both races held so far and finds himself third in the championship as a result, behind only leader Lando Norris and defending champion Max Verstappen.
But he’s not sure his situation means Mercedes are second only to McLaren for competitiveness right now. When asked if that was the case he said: “I think it’s close, to be honest. Things are very tight between ourselves, Ferrari and Red Bull. Had qualifying not been as strong, had I qualified in sixth place behind those guys, I wouldn’t have finished on the podium [in Shanghai] . Those are the fine margins we’re playing with.”
