Former Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali predicts Ferrari and Mercedes fightback in 2022. Domenicali predicts Ferrari and Mercedes fightback.

Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc has lost a lot of points againt Max Verstappen in the last four races of the 2022 Formula 1 season, due to several technical issues on his Ferrari F1-75 car and some bad strategy decisions made by the Maranello team.

In Spain, Charles was leading the race with an overwhelming gap in front, when his power unit, handing the win to Red Bull. The Monaco Grand was next and Charles started the Monte Carlo event from pole position, only to finish outside the podium as a result of some unfortunate pitstop timings, while at the Baku City Circuit the Monegasque driver was once again in P1 when a new power unit issue forced him to retire.

Last time out, in Canada, Charles Leclerc had to start from the back row due to changing several parts of his Ferrari power unit, before fighting his way back to finish the Montreal race in fifth place, losing further ground to Max Verstappen, who won the race. Former Ferrari boss and current Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali feels that the Maranello team should not be counted out of the 2022 F1 battle just yet because there is still a long way to go before the final chequered flag falls.

“If you remember after three races of the season, the comment from Max Verstappen was that the game was over and Ferrari was leading by 40 points or so. Now, it’s the other way around, because Max is leading the championship by 46 points,” Stefano Domenicali said in a recent interview for Standard Sport – “I would say we need to be prudent. The championship is very long and is going to have lots of ups and downs. It’s too early to say the championship is finished, and I say that not because I hope that but I do believe that. We are just one third of the season in. There are a lot of races and I’m sure the championship will be tight.” – he added.

One of the few positive aspects for Scuderia Ferrari in Canada was the fact that Charles Leclerc’s Maranello teammate Carlos Sainz was able to challenge Max Verstappen for the race win at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, as his F1-75 car proved the fastest in Canada, but not fast enough to overtake the Red Bull Dutch driver in the final stages of the Canadian Grand Prix. Still, Sefano Domenicali is confident that the Maranello team’s fighting challenge will be even stronger in the next round of the 2022 Formula 1 season, the British Grand Prix, and also predicts Mercedes will be able to join the fight at the Silverstone circuit.

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At the same time, Sefano Domenicali feels the budget cap limitation will play a key role in the outcome of the title battle this season:

“Charles [Leclerc] is in great shape and Ferrari are very close. I also see signs that Mercedes are getting faster, so the scenario for the championship is to be close. It all depends how the cars adapt to the circuits and how, with this budget cap, the teams relay upgrades to the car. That’s the beauty of the situation we’re in. For sure, Mercedes are going to be closer, because they are an incredible team and all the titles achieved in the past — eight in a row. They’re going to be there — they will not give up. And that will help for the situation to be a little more mixed up.” – the former Ferrari boss concluded.