Coming into the 2022 F1 season, Ferrari seemed like the favorite for the Championship. They were fastest during pre-season testing and won two out of the opening three races this year. On top of that, their closest rivals Red Bull were suffering from reliability issues early this year.
However, as the season progressed, things started going downhill for Ferrari. Red Bull overtook them to become the faster car and the durability problems began affecting Ferrari. They gave up a lot of points from winning positions due to forced retirements. To add to their misery, Ferrari’s strategy team was not at the top of their game, making multiple errors that cost them a lot of points.
In the end, it turned out to be a very disappointing year for Ferrari. They did make progress after their underwhelming 2020 and 2021 campaigns and won their first race since 2019. Unfortunately, Red Bull was the more consistent outfit in 2022 and the Maranello squad’s full focus is on 2023 now.
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Ferrari could have had a faster car if they sacrificed reliability
In the first half of the season, Ferrari and Red Bull were very close to each other in terms of pace. That was also the time when their engine kept showing reliability problems which affected both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz’s performances.
To prevent more DNFs, Ferrari decided to tone down their engine performance according to Giuliano Duchessa. Duchessa reported that the Italian team’s engine was nowhere near its maximum power level as they had sacrificed about 25-30 horsepower to cope with durability. This means that the F1-75 was six/seven tenths slower than it could have been throughout the course of the season.
. @GiulyDuchessa : “From what has been learned, 3/4 tenths of development have been sacrificed on the current car for the benefit of the new car. The 675 will have some major improvements and in many areas.”
— tami. (@Vetteleclerc) November 17, 2022
“From what has been learned, 3/4 tenths of development have been sacrificed on the current car for the benefit of the new car,” Duchessa said. “The 675 will have some major improvements and in many areas.”
Rumors of Mattia Binotto leaving shut down by the Scuderia
Earlier this months, rumors emerged which suggested that the Maranello-based outfit were looking to sack team principal Mattia Binotto. Binotto has been boss of Scuderia Ferrari since 2019 and is overseeing a major transition period for F1’s most successful team ever.
Scuderia Ferrari Statement:
In relation to speculation in certain media regarding Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto’s position, Ferrari states that these rumours are totally without foundation.
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) November 15, 2022
According to numerous reports, the management was not happy with both Mercedes cars finishing ahead of Ferrari in Brazil last week. Apparently, this led to them making the call to sack the 53-year-old.
However, Ferrari soon released a statement which confirmed that these rumors were not based on any foundation. Fans on the other hand, are divided as to whether Binotto should remain in charge of the team or not.
