F1, Ferrari: pre-race retirements become a curse – in Brazil, the third in three years. Charles Leclerc's DNS in Brazil was Ferrari's third in three years.

Charles Leclerc’s Misfortune
“Why am I so unlucky?” exclaimed a desperate Charles Leclerc over the radio as he faced retirement at the São Paulo Grand Prix last Sunday. A hydraulic issue sent his SF-23 into a spin during the formation lap, leaving him to ponder his ill fate. It’s hard to fault the Monegasque driver, who has indeed experienced an impressive sequence of technical failures and issues beyond his control in recent years, especially in races where he started from the front row, just as it was in Brazil. However, delving into the data reveals that Ferrari, in general, has had its share of reliability issues in recent years.

What particularly stands out is the number of retirements occurring even before the race lights go out, categorized as “DNS” (Did Not Start). In theory, such occurrences should be a rare anomaly, especially in the pinnacle of motorsport that Formula 1 represents. However, the truth is that in the last three seasons, Ferrari has had its car fail to even participate in the race on three occasions due to some form of problem before the Grand Prix even began.

Third ‘non-start’ in three years: Red Bull and Mercedes remain flawless
This year, it happened just a few weeks ago when Carlos Sainz failed to start the Qatar Grand Prix due to a fuel leak. In 2021, in Monaco, it was Charles Leclerc again who couldn’t capitalize on his pole position in his home race due to a transmission problem, stemming from the crash he had suffered in the #16 car at the end of qualifying. Only AlphaTauri, not exactly a top-tier team, has had a similar track record in recent years.

The comparison with Ferrari’s historical rivals – Red Bull, Mercedes, and now McLaren – is stark. The Brackley-based team has not experienced a DNS since its official return to F1 in 2010. Red Bull’s last DNS dates all the way back to the 2016 Australian Grand Prix. Even McLaren, which returned to podium contention only recently, hasn’t had a non-start since the 2020 Belgian Grand Prix, where Carlos Sainz was the one affected. It’s worth noting that during the 2016-2017 period, the Ferrari team, led by Sebastian Vettel Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen at the time, also lost two races due to pre-race issues. Unfortunately, this curse continues to haunt the Prancing Horse to this day.