Ferrari braced for humiliation
MOTORSPORT
ROME: Ferrari fans are having a wretched time this season, so it may be just as well that Monday’s Italian Grand Prix will be run without spectators.
Even if a clampdown on engine modes slows Mercedes' Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton, chasing his 90th career win, the locals can expect little cheer as they watch from afar due to Covid19 restrictions.
Ferrari — fifth overall and just two points clear of Renault — is heading for its worst season in 40 years and could chart new lows in its traditional home race — this year the first of three in Italy.
The sport's oldest and most successful team, winner with Charles Leclerc from pole last year, drew a blank in Belgium last Monday after failing to qualify in the top 10.
A repeat, at a similar ‘‘power’’ circuit, would be a humiliation for a team which has lost engine performance since a confidential and controversial settlement with the governing FIA earlier this year.
The last time Ferrari failed to score at Monza was in 2005, when only the top eight took points but Michael Schumacher still finished 10th.
In 1995, Ferrari suffered a double retirement, but Austrian Gerhard Berger at least started third.
``You have to be realistic — you cannot expect miracles. The package is what it is,'' said four times world champion Sebastian Vettel after Spa.
``We are not as strong as we would like to be, so we need to stay optimistic and see the good things, even if at the moment there are not many.''
Hamilton, 47 points clear of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and heading for a seventh world title, is a five times winner at Monza.
Another victory, his sixth in eight races, would line the Briton up to equal Schumacher's record 91 wins at Mugello, a Ferrariowned track hosting a grand prix for the first time to celebrate the Italian team's 1000th race.
Claire Williams, Formula One's only female team boss, will step down after the Italian Grand Prix, with founder Frank also leaving following last month's sale to United Statesbased Dorilton Capital.
Claire Williams effectively ran the team, although her 78yearold father remained official principal despite no longer going to races.
It will continue as Williams, with the new management yet to be announced, but the family's departure marks the end of an era for the team after 43 years and 739 grands prix.
Claire Williams, who has a 2yearold son, said she wanted to spend more time with her family and to allow Dorilton to make a fresh start. — Reuters