Ferrari could prove to be Formula 1’s biggest mystery in the 2022 season – but the man at heart doesn’t expect much from his team.
Mattia Binotto is the team boss who oversaw “fatigue” for three years [at] not being able to compete for the best positions ”.
When he succeeded Maurizio Arrivabene at the beginning of the 2019 season, there was hope that Ferrari’s championship drought, which dates back to the 2007 triumph of Kimi Raikkonen, would finally come to an end.
But for the past three years the team has done nothing but keep afloat with midfield as Red Bull and Mercedes battle for the sport’s supremacy.
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The relative demise of this once great team is a long-standing pain for F1 bosses who know the marketing power behind the Prancing Horse could crack America and the Far East. Ferrari has grown from a brand known for its regular title challenges to a multi-year contender for the “Best of the Rest” award.
That’s what they won in 2021, took third place on the two headlines and won their undercard scrap with McLaren. Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc finished fifth and seventh respectively in the drivers’ championship – not exactly a fairy tale that gives hope for the future.
What 2022 has to offer, however, is the reasonable expectation that Formula 1 will become more egalitarian. Rules are being changed to hold back Red Bull and Mercedes and give Ferrari, McLaren and Williams a glimmer of hope to fight for the championship – or at least regularly fight for race wins.
At least that’s what we thought. When asked whether Ferrari’s wait for a new champion is finally over, Binotto is anything but convinced.
“I cannot be confident. The reason for this is that if I look at the gap today, it’s still a significant sign that these Mercedes and Red Bull teams are very strong, ”said Binotto.
“The fact that we are working very hard in 2022 and making it a priority was a necessity for us.
“Because we knew that it would have been difficult for us to have a good or competitive car in 2022 if we hadn’t done that.”
Ferrari’s rebirth?
by Kevin Garside, I senior sports correspondent
The big red machine finished 2021 with one car on the podium to end the season as by far the best remainder after Mercedes and Red Bull. That it was Carlos Sainz and not Charles Leclerc who sprayed champagne next season throws a fascinating light.
The result in Abu Dhabi secured Sainz fifth place in the drivers’ standings, two ahead of Leclerc.
The radical rule revision of the next season offers Ferrari the opportunity to fight sustainably at the top for the first time in the hybrid era and to regain Leclerc the glamor of a disappointing campaign.
Leclerc was once entitled to the hill so excitingly occupied by Verstappen. Suddenly, his career challenge is closer to home when he subdues a quietly formidable teammate who secretly gets the job done.
Read Kevin’s F1 2021 predictions Here…
Ferrari made the decision last winter to effectively leave its SF1000 car untouched and instead focus its limited spending on the yet-to-be-unveiled 2022 model. The hope is that if they sacrifice one season they have a chance the next.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc had a pretty disappointing season in 2021 (Picture: Getty)
But according to Binotto, the “gap is too big” to win the championship, although race wins are not excluded. And the boss is not exactly thrilled that Ferrari is facing another season and its rivals are racing into the distance.
“These two years [2020 and 2021] have taught us the fatigue of not being able to fight for the best positions and patience, “said Binotto.
“After all, we cannot say that we are satisfied and we are not happy when others celebrate. So I say fatigue, patience and when it is important to improve in order to achieve our goals. “
He added: “What will be important for us next year is undoubtedly to keep growing.
“On the other hand, it is important to further reduce the gap to the competition. I think the new regulations are a clear opportunity. The hope is definitely to be competitive, and to be competitive for me means being able to win races.
“Would that mean we can fight for a championship? I think when I look at myself today, the gap is too big. But I think it’s part of our DNA as Ferrari. The important thing is to be able to fight for pole position or victory in at least a few races.
“That is the simple consequence of continuous growth and improvement. I would be disappointed if we hadn’t improved compared to this year. “
What does the improvement look like for Ferrari?
So improvement is the benchmark for Ferrari’s success in 2022 – but what would that look like?
Certainly Leclerc expects a more fruitful season after a rather forgetful year 2021, in which he only achieved one podium at 22 Grands Prix.
Sainz took three thirds and finished second in Monaco, but at no point did he look remotely like he was going to take on runners-up Mercedes and Red Bull, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez.
Granted, Ferrari secured third place in the constructors’ championship and kept McLaren in check, but can fans expect anything more in the new season?
Sports director Laurent Mekies recently said there was “no compromise for 2022”, stressing that this was the year the team had been working towards. Ferrari has two docile drivers, a passionate fan base and certainly the will of the F1 fraternity to fight for titles.
Car change at Ferrari 2022
And they certainly have been working on their car and making improvements before winter testing begins, which begins on February 23, 2022.
“The internal combustion engine, I have to say, is significantly different,” Binotto recently stated.
“We have a new fuel, namely 10 percent ethanol, which somehow has changed the way it burns a lot.
Ferrari decided to pour its time and resources into its car for 2022 and had little to cheer about during the 2021 season (Photo: Getty)
“We’re all losing more or less 20 hp, which means that the combustion itself is somehow different. So there were many possibilities in the development of the unit and we changed it quite a bit. “
He added, “I think the way we approached the exercise was really open-minded.
“And when you look at the vehicle concept, what was possible or not, it’s not just the outer shapes, but everything you could have done under the body, the layout, the chassis design in relation to the overall architecture, including the good the unit and its architecture.
“I think the team has brought about significant innovations and the overall design that we are finalizing now is very different from the 2021 project.”
