The Maranello automaker has now accustomed its fans to increasingly bitter disappointments. Charles Leclerc’s talent and the changes at the top are of little help. Let’s find out together how Ferrari fans can dream again and how they can achieve it.
Ferrari problems: 17 years of pain
It was October 21, 2007. Ferrari wins the drivers’ championship for the last time Formula 1 world championship… That afternoon almost seventeen years ago, it was Finnish Kimi Raikkonen who lifted the trophy after his teammate Felipe Massa’s victory at Interlagos. The championship was won just one point ahead of Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton in a head-to-head battle that was Ferrari’s last victory to date.
From that moment on, only terrible disappointments came from Maranello: some made it known, others were on a knife edge, some were hard to stomach. A perfect encapsulation of Ferrari’s terrible period is last season’s season, which started with the belief that it could play the role of a serious contender in the 2022/2023 world championship and ended with a championship instead. We are fifth and seventh in the drivers’ standings He rose to the third step of the podium among manufacturers.
Ferrari’s difficulties in F1
The main problem of the last championship was reliability. Many retirements, many engine problems and then incompetent strategies, variable drive performanceIn short, a vortex that spares nothing and no one. Perhaps it’s worth mentioning that some of last season’s problems were also the result of expectations; Ferrari seriously dreamed of competing for the championship under the guidance of new team principal Frederic Vasseur, who arrived at Maranello a few seasons later. To Alfa Romeo.
Some of the criticism from enthusiasts and professionals was directed at Vasseur. 2023 results were even worse From 2022 when Ferrari is still in charge I never liked Mattia Binotto very much. However, upon closer examination, the machine under the direction of the French engineer appears to have grown; especially considering Vasseur faces a discouraged and weakened team at the start of 2023.
One season is definitely not enough transform the teamBut there’s a sense that Vasseur’s work started to show in the second episode of last season. If we take into account the ten Grands Prix held after the 2023 summer break, Ferrari actually averaged over twenty points per race, compared to fifteen points in the first stage of the world championship competition.
Over the same period, five out of ten races (they were two out of twelve in the first block of the season), podiums (six against three) and poles also increased. The Prancing Horse also managed to win the Grand PrixIt was the only race in Singapore this year that Red Bull did not win.
Progress observed, Ferrari 2024 prospects
It is not easy to say whether all this will be enough to once again demonstrate confidence in the face of Sirk’s departure from Bahrain on March 2. There Vasseur’s management will be long-term and starts from a basic premise: convincing the team to trust him and follow him in his strategic and technical approach.
Vasseur, with his constant search for scapegoats, characteristic of the Arrivabene administration.The opposite of the superficiality of Binotto’s management, is known for avoiding taking on any practical responsibility. In short, a radical cultural change.
From a technical perspective, what will say a lot about Ferrari’s growth and Vasseur’s work is what skills he will equip it with. SF-23’s inconsistency issues will be resolved. One of the complaints received many times from Leclerc and Sainz last season was that the car’s performance and handling varied depending on the tire composition during the same grand prix, especially in terms of grip and sensitivity to wind when entering corners.
Vasseur promised a complete overhaul of the car; nose design and part of the rear winghowever, a minor change will be made to improve the management of airflows. Given the conditions, there’s plenty of waiting time on the track to see how these changes will affect performance.
Certainly, Vasseur continues to preach calm, and even the fans have realized this now: the best strategy is to start the season with no expectations. We should focus on the growth of the machineCreating a strong foundation to launch a real challenge to win the championship in the 2025 season. In short, we must start from the bottom and win the rivalry battle by protecting Mercedes, Mclaren and Aston Martin above all else. back. Once that’s in place, we can go in search of Red Bull.
