The 2022 Formula 1 season is now over and for Scuderia Ferrari it is a good time to look back with regret on what has been a missed opportunity to fight for the world championship title against rivals Red Bull, but most importantly to clearly identify the many weaknesses that have hindered the Maranello team’s lofty championship ambitions this season.
All Ferrari fans still remember the encouraging pre-season testing session at the Bahrain International circuit almost ten months ago, when the F1-75 challenger made its debut on track and immediately impressed everyone, fans and media alike, thanks to its strong pace and its ability to be competitive with every type of tyre, regardless of the track conditions or fuel levels. What followed what an amazing start to the 2022 Formula 1 campaign, as Charles Leclerc won the opening round, the Bahrain Grand Prix, with his Maranello teammate Carlos Sainz completing an incredible one-two finish for the Italian side in Bahrain, a result that was missing since Singapore 2019. A solid second place finish for the Monegasque driver at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia and another race victory in the third race of the year, the Australian Grand Prix, led to excitement building among the famously enthusiastic Ferrari fans.
Sadly that was as good as it got for the Maranello team this season: Ferrari’s lead in the standings was gradually reduced by Red Bull and by the summer break it already became clear that the Italian side would not be able to keep up with its main rival. The major setbacks were caused by wrongly executed operating procedures, such a slow pit stops or several bad strategic calls made by Inaki Rueda and his team, which cost Charles Leclerc the race wins in Hungary and in the Monegasque’s home race on the streets of Monte Carlo. In addition to this, power unit reliability issues affected the F1-75 car in the first part of the year, as Ferrari admitted it had focused on engine performance to reduce the gap to Mercedes, Honda and Renault rather than a good reliability level.
Former Formula 1 driver Karun Chandhok, who raced in the 2020 season for the Hispania Racing F1 Team, and is now working as a Formula 1 analyst for the Sky Sports television channel, has been closely following the championship and opened up on what he feels are the major problems the Scuderia is facing as it attempts to get back on top. The Sky Sports commentator admitted that “Ferrari have just underperformed. They’ve not maximised the potential of their car, which is a frustrating thing, because the have actually got a very fast car. I have a spreadsheet that I update as the season goes, tracking car performance based on all the dry qualifying sessions, so it’s pure pace” – Karun Chandhok said in a recent interview for the Betway Blog.
To have a chance of fighting against Red Bull, who proved able to execute perfect weekends and defeat Ferrari even when the RB18 was slightly slower than the F1-75 in the first half of the season, the Maranello team has to “be honest with themselves.” – Karun Chandhok added – “If I think back to the great team bosses of the sport, Ron Dennis, Frank Williams, Jean Todt, Ross Brawn, they didn’t suffer fools. They would not have tolerated multiple errors strategically in the way that they’ve had this year. And some of it’s just basic, like what we saw in Brazil – when there’s water on the ground, you put the wet tires on, if there’s no water, you put the dry ones on.” – the television presenter added for Betway.
While team principal Mattia Binotto and the Maranello team’s strategists have had to face much public criticism from the media and the Italian media due to some questionable strategy decisions, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have also made some mistakes which made it easier for Red Bull to build a solid gap at the top, on their way to both the Drivers and Constructors titles. The Spaniard had a miserable race in Melbourne, having to retire in the early stages of the Australian Grand Prix after crashing out. He also spun off into the gravel in his home race at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona and suffered another DNF in Japan, once again due to a mistake, this time on a wet track.
Charles Leclerc lost points at Imola while spinning from third place and his most significant error came at the Paul Ricard circuit: the Monegasque driver was leading the French Grand Prix and had the pace to go on and win the race, but lost control of his F1-75 car on the outside of Le Beausset corner and his day ended in the barriers, handing the win to Max Verstappen: “The drivers aren’t immune to errors either, both of them have made their fair share across the season. So, as a collective, they’ve got to have an honest conversation with themselves and recognise where they should have been better.” – Karun Chandhok continued.
A lot has been said about the pressure Ferrari faces to perform, with the Italian media always ready to point out their mistakes and demand changes, as Ferrari is often compared to the Italian national football team when it comes to the passion and dedication of Italy. But the Sky Sports Formula 1 analyst feels that at this level pressure should be a normal factor for any top team and expects the Scuderia to live up to the high expectations: “That’s why they’re all in it, isn’t it?” – Karun Chandhok replied, when asked by Betway on this matter – “They’re in this game to win, that’s why they’re paid the big bucks. They’re not being paid five-figure salaries to do their jobs. They’re paid six, seven-figure salaries, so you’re paid to deal with the pressure, just like drivers are paid big money to deal with the pressure and the risks and the dangers. That’s part of the territory, it’s what you’ve signed up for.” – the former Formula 1 driver concluded.
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