Italian fans worried about Ferrari

Fans and sports media in Italy are reportedly worried about the performance of Ferrari in the second half of the Formula One season as the Scuderia allowed Mercedes to swoop in and claim the constructors' and drivers' championships as well as a one-two in the last Grand Prix at Abu Dhabi.

Through Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari were enjoying a positive 2017 season until the Asian leg of the campaign when the German lost a lot of ground to Lewis Hamilton.

La Gazzetta dello Sport is the source of the worry, with particular negativity focused the mental tougness of both drivers, Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, and whether this duo has the prowess and abilities to overcome Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes.

"It was a sad and pale finale for Ferrari," said La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"Questions hang in the air. Is Vettel-Raikkonen able to beat Hamilton-Bottas?

"What caused the psychological collapse of Vettel and the wavering achievements of Raikkonen? Does Ferrari need a mental coach or the complaints of Arrivabene and Marchionne?

"From the outside one has the impression that at Ferrari there is a constant, exaggerated and pointless tension," the sports daily concluded.

Corriere dello Sport also got in on the act of criticising Ferrari, and flippantly suggested that the celebrations of Mercedes in Abu Dhabi would have acted as a wake-up call for the Italian manufacturers.

The newspaper said as the fireworks sounded at Yas Marina, "the alarm bells sounded in Maranello".