Ferrari chairman delivers critical verdict on 'mistake-riddled' season

Ferrari

Ferrari chairman delivers critical verdict on 'mistake-riddled' season

But Elkann still confident of titles by 2026

Ian Parkes

Saturday 10 September 2022 09:02

Ferrari chairman John Elkann has declared himself "not satisfied" with the Scuderia's current form, believing there have been "too many mistakes" across the season.

From a position of strength at the start of the campaign, after Charles Leclerc scored two wins and a second position in the opening three races, the Monégasque driver and the team have capitulated.

Through unreliability, poor strategic calls, pit lane gaffes and Leclerc's own errors, the Scuderia heads into its home race of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza this weekend in the shadow of Red Bull and Max Verstappen.

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The reigning F1 champion has a 109-point lead over Leclerc, while Ferrari trails Red Bull by 135 points in the constructors' standings.

Adamant the board still has "great faith" in team principal Mattia Binotto, speaking to Gazzetta Dello Sport, Elkann said: "We appreciate everything he and all our engineers have done.

"But there is no doubt that the work in Maranello, in the garage, on the pit wall and at the wheel needs to improve.

"We must continue to make progress and that goes for the mechanics, the engineers, the drivers and obviously, the entire management team, including the team principal.

"We have seen that there are still too many mistakes when it comes to reliability, driving and strategy.

"Putting our trust in Binotto and his team was the right decision and it has paid off. Thanks to them we are competitive and winning again.

"But I am not satisfied because I think we can always do better."

Ferrari to be champions by 2026

Praising the fact Ferrari has at least returned to winning ways this season with four victories - three for Leclerc and one for Carlos Sainz - Elkann is confident Ferrari will again be champions by the time the new power unit regulations start in 2026.

Putting his faith in Leclerc, in particular, over Sainz, Elkann added: "Our first goal was to be competitive.

"If you are not, then you have nowhere to go, whereas you can always work on reliability.

"That’s why I believe that before 2026 Ferrari will again win the constructors’ and drivers’ titles, with Charles in pole position.

"We are lucky to have two great drivers, probably the strongest pairing in Formula 1."