There is so much to say about Ferrari’s disastrous weekend in Qatar. However, the performance of the SF-25 was so beyond comment that we have decided not to comment at all. Why bother? To what end? Unfortunately—or perhaps, more accurately, fortunately—the season is coming to an end. Soon, a new chapter will begin for everyone: for Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, Frederic Vasseur, and all the men and women at Maranello.
But what will this new chapter look like? Can we be sure it will be better than the one about to conclude? No, unfortunately we cannot. As simple external observers, the Ferrari team currently appears like a ship without a rudder, adrift in the waves, as we mentioned this morning, a team adrift in its own chaos.
A sad image
The president is, and this is a fact, rarely present. He seldom follows the team on track, and his statements often risk doing more harm than good to the environment. With Elkann often too distant, one would expect that at least the team principal would try to maintain a straight line, bring order, and above all, issue clear and objective statements.
Instead, every weekend brings something new. Everything happens and its opposite. The team suddenly turns against the drivers, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton unfairly attacked, then blamed for things they didn’t do, and finally, there is surprise when Charles and Lewis lose their patience and respond to the attacks, going against the team in turn.
Unfortunately, this is not the Ferrari we want to see. The picture from Qatar shows a situation that is not only delicate but deeply sad and worrying for the future. It presents a scenario we could never have imagined commenting on at the end of 2024, with the Prancing Horse fighting for the Constructors’ Championship against McLaren. A profound sense of sadness hangs over Maranello and its fans. Miracles can sometimes happen, but there is no time left even for them. Truth be told, seeing a team in this situation makes it hard to believe in them at all.
