FERRARI FACE MONZA MADNESS
FERRARI chief Mattia Binotto admits his team is enduring a nightmare season in Formula One.
But he insists there is no crisis with the Italian giants despite their drivers Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel finishing 13th and 14th in last weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix.
They were only eighth in the team standings at Spa and the Scuderia’s many fans are not happy.
Binotto insists better times are just around the corner.
“He said: “Is there a crisis? No, there isn’t. It was a very bad result during an extremely tough season for everyone.
“We knew it would be from the winter tests, Covid and the new regulations. We have to have tight deadlines, we’re in the midst of a storm, but we have to look ahead and work hard for our futures.”
It appears that the Ferrari engine is coming up well short when it comes to straight-line speed and that is a major problem at the Belgian track.
Binotto added: “We’re short on speed and aerodynamic efficiency.
My message for the fans is that we understand them and we’re sorry. What’s happening is the car has lost power compared with 2019, just as they all have.
“We partially accounted for those limits with a superior engine. We have to improve in this regard.”
To make matters worse, the Formula One roadshow heads to Italy next and the Ferrari stronghold of Monza.
That’s just about the fastest track on the calendar so it could be another difficult weekend ahead.
Binotto added: “We’re very united. There’s no tension, but there is a feeling of disappointment and frustration, which we have to turn into determination.
“It’s a tough period and we’re looking into what we want to do. As for Monza, after Spa, it’ll be tough in a week’s time because it’s such a fast track.
“Changing engine modes in qualifying will be banned, so we’ll see which changes we can make.
“There’s no point kidding ourselves. We have to rally as well. We were too far behind in Belgium.”