History repeats itself. And it’s not a good story for Ferrari. For over three decades now, the Prancing Horse has been tantalizing fans and insiders with unfulfilled promises of glory. The early stages of 2022 were the great red hope that ironically began to waver right on the friendly grounds of Imola. That was the moment when it became apparent that the F1-75 was no longer the car to beat.
Then came the power unit issues, the procrastination of solutions, the halt in developments, and the shifting of technical and financial resources to 2023 in the hopes of creating a memorable season. Perhaps, true, we will remember this year for a long time. But as a warning. As a suggestion for calm, for flying low, for keeping one’s tongue in check, avoiding grand proclamations and flashy statements about a car that was supposed to be the fastest ever, but instead finds itself in the middle, pushing and hoping to secure second place light years away from Red Bull.
Ferrari: Red Bull disappointed by the post-2022 reaction
The snapshot of a mechanism that Frédéric Vasseur is tasked with stopping came directly from Milton Keynes. And we’re informed that he’s determined to do so. “We expected Ferrari to build on last year and for Mercedes to be there as well. We were completely taken aback by how competitive we were against our rivals. Of course, by February we knew we had a fast car, it was evident from competitive lap times, but I don’t think any of us thought the car would be this effective.” This is how Christian Horner expressed himself in a recent interview for ESPN.
The team principal also cites Mercedes, which, during the approach to the 2023 championship, has been more reserved, avoiding dramatic statements and speaking of a growing year without explicitly alluding to the title. A communication strategy that Ferrari has now embraced as well, given that Fred Vasseur, while not hiding the legitimate ambitions a team of such glory must harbor, has refrained from getting overly enthusiastic about 2024.
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Christian Horner’s perception, widely shared in the world of Formula 1, is that Ferrari could have played the role of the favorite after sacrificing the 2022 project. Perhaps it was that halt that caused the most serious issues in Maranello, which didn’t change its aerodynamic philosophy and therefore didn’t progressively test the innovations that only proved ineffective during Bahrain testing.
Gradually, the SF-23 underwent a remodeling process to bring it in line with the principles that worked for Red Bull from the beginning of the new regulatory era. However, the accumulated delay and the budget cap chains locked in by the ATR mechanism have rendered the comeback in vain, at best serving to compete with slightly better tools against Aston Martin, McLaren, and Mercedes, who haven’t remained idle themselves.
Ferrari must start afresh with a new work culture that places the real goal at the center: to return to winning. To achieve this, timely and, if necessary, “relentless” communication support is required. Fred Vasseur has broad shoulders; he can and should explain to the fans that it will take time to consistently return to the top. A harsh truth is better than a comfortable lie. An unwritten rule that applies in life, Formula 1, and every work domain…
Source: Diego Catalano for FUnoanalisitecnica
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