Ferrari working overtime to get car back on track as Singapore looms
Behind the scenes at Ferrari headquarters there has been considerable upset and embarrassment among the hierarchy of the team vanquished so hurtfully on frenetic home territory at Monza in the Italian Grand Prix.
We outsiders will never be allowed to learn of the real depth of the disappointment, such is the Ferrari mantra on secrecy, but the strongest of hints of a furore have been pinpointed by the uncompromising remarks of Ferrari’s mightily powerful president Sergio Marchionne, who looked back on the team’s humbling in Monza in front of a patriotic fanbase and scathingly and succinctly observed: “We screwed up.”
Star turn Sebastian Vettel, just signed for a new three-year deal worth around £100 million (Dh488 million), was astonishingly a virtual also-ran with an eighth place in qualifying and a pitiful third place, 36 seconds behind winner Lewis Hamilton, who overtook seasonlong title pacemaker Vettel to replace the German by three points at the top of the championship. As the recriminations piled up and the mystery and misery of their sad showings cast their shadows Vettel and his partner Kimi Raikkonen moaned about the abject performance of their cars citing grip problems and a disastrous lack of pace compared with the impressively front running Mercedes.
“We went sideways. The cars’ set-ups were all wrong,” added Marchionne, who called what was virtually an emergency meeting of the team, “and we need to make sure it does not happen again.”
Vettel looking for sixth
I must confess those comments had the distinct echoes of a threat from a boss with an attack of advanced impatience.
And as the night-time, after dark 61lap Singapore round looms this weekend, with its demanding 300-kilometre marathon challenge, there has been some considerable effort deep into the early hours at the legendary team’s Italian base in a desperate bid to right the wrongs and reverse the setbacks that wrecked their Monza dream so haplessly.
Vettel, four-time world champion, will be keenly looking for a sixth victory around the tricky Singapore street circuit, and he has been busy bidding to boost confidence among the besieged backroom boys at Maranello.
The 32-year-old, anxious to erase the memory of Monza, insists the Italian Grand Prix giants slump was a one-off and emphasises: “We have a very strong car and we will show its strengths in the final races right to the end of the season.
“Monza was not a great grand prix for us. We struggled. And we are so sorry to let down the tifosi, our many thousands of faithful supporters so badly. We clearly did not have the pace. And we don’t know why, but we have been looking into it.
“We will, I am sure, be good for Singapore. I am not panicking and I believe we can make up for any lost ground.
“Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton are looking strong and they are a tough challenge, but we are up for it. Difficulties bring out the best in you. And there are plenty of positives in this very fine team.
“I am not afraid. It is important to remember that leading the championship is not as crucial as eventually winning it. Along the way there can be problems as we saw in Italy, but we are a great team and I am confident we will be a force to be reckoned with in the countdown.”
Hamilton, the champion thrice with two wins and three pole placings in Singapore, is well alert to the likelihood of a furious fightback from Ferrari and he reminds us: “You can never, ever, underestimate Seb or his team. And it is going to be a real testing run -in for the title.”
One thing is for sure, this nail-biter Formula One drama, the most excitingly gripping for years, is set to run and run with the promise of a spectacular finale between the two leading men, Hamilton and Vettel, firm foes, in Abu Dhabi looking a dead cert.