Perennial crisis
Years go by, team principals change, engineers come and go, but the situation at Ferrari remains fixed and immovable, in a continually recurring state of mediocrity. The races at Silverstone and Budapest ended with a ninth and tenth place, and a seventh and eighth place, respectively. A numerical certification of how the Ferrari car is once again the fourth-fifth force on the field.
The Hungaroring circuit theoretically should have favored the characteristics of the SF-23 single-seater, at least according to the words of team principal Frederic Vasseur before the race weekend in Budapest.
Damaging “Announcements”
However, one of the problems seems to have become precisely this: the continuous “announcements” from which the men of the red team seem to suffer. Communication is always focused on “we are improving,” but very often the concrete proof of these steps forward is missing. Now even the Italian press is becoming impatient with the situation inside Maranello. This is evidenced by the analysis made by Fulvio Solms in the Corriere dello Sport, in which no one from the “red family” is spared: from the team principal to the drivers, and up to the top management, everyone has their degree of responsibility.
Everyone is Responsible
“Fred Vasseur is beating around the bush – Fulvio Solms writes for the Italian newspaper – he complains about the mistakes of his men when instead the team principal should be the lightning rod, talking about an SF-23 that doesn’t exist.” A problem is also represented by the two drivers: Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Not so much for their qualities, which are not in question, but rather for the emerging internal rivalry and – above all – for the diametrically opposed analyses they are providing of Ferrari’s moment. A lack of harmony that certainly does not help to steer the development.
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“[…] for the Monegasque, in great personal harmony with Fred Vasseur […], the idea expressed is ‘our moment will come through work,'” writes Fulvio Solms, citing Charles Leclerc’s comments in his post-race interviews. Carlos Sainz, on the other hand, seems “annoyed by a situation that appears to have no way out, generally for the team and particularly for him.” The concern in Maranello is also for what the next season might be: “What project can the same designers of the SF-23 put together today without understanding why this red car is performing poorly […]? Thus, there are no premises to correct the mistakes.”
The closing remarks are dedicated to the missing leadership: “The Ferrari leadership crisis shines in a phosphorescent manner: not a word from President John Elkann, nor from CEO Benedetto Vigna.”
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