Ferrari must make most of their form

IT’S been a slightly odd start to the Formula 1 season. Odd and quite interesting and entertaining. Out of the opening four races we’ve had three different winning drivers (with three different constructors).

Not since 2012 – when seven different drivers won the opening seven races – has the sport got off to such a flying start. The racing (the season opener in Melbourne aside) has been entertaining. We’ve had clashes and smashes – thanks Max Verstappen – but disappointingly after four rounds we’ve got the same old story at the top of the leaderboard.

Lewis Hamilton leads at the world drivers championship and for all the novelty of the opening four rounds, there’s something crushingly familiar about that. The sport needs somebody other than a Mercedes driver to triumph this year.

The three pointed star’s level of dominance has been reminiscent of Ferrari’s in their pomp and maybe that’s something Ferrari need to rediscover. They’ve got the fastest car on the grid – three out of four pole positions have gone the prancing horse’s way – and yet they’ve only managed to convert one of those poles into victory.

Okay events have transpired against them – safety cars in each of the last two rounds – but even so with a car that quick they ought to be doing better. Mercedes aren’t going to stand still for long. The clock is ticking.