Former Ferrari duo fear the wait for a title could go on

Michelle Foster 21 Feb 2022 1:45 PM

A front shot of the Ferrari F1-75. February 2022. — A front-facing shot of the Ferrari F1-75. February 2022.

Former Ferrari drivers Ivan Capelli and René Arnoux have raised doubts about Ferrari’s ability to design a championship-winning car.

After all, the technical department is the same as the one that designed the winless SF21.

While Mattia Binotto has been the team boss since 2019, replacing Maurizio Arrivabene, Enrico Cardile is the head of the chassis side of the car and Enrico Gualtieri leads the engine department.

The trio have, it is fair to say, not had much success in recent years.

Following the 2019 engine scandal, Ferrari had their worst season-long performance for 40 years in 2020 and suffered the same lack of victories last season, even though they did recover from sixth in the Constructors’ Championship to third.

That is by no means the goal for Ferrari, Formula 1’s longest-serving team dreaming of championship success.

The wait for that has been over a decade, Ferrari last winning the Drivers’ title in 2007 and the Constructors’ a year later.

While the likes of Timo Glock think the Scuderia could contend this year, Capelli, who raced for Ferrari in 1992, fears the wait could still go on.

“The only doubt is that if in recent years they have never found the key to the problem, how can they do it now, without the graft of someone who brings something different?” Capelli asked according to FormulaPassion.it.

That’s a sentiment echoed by Arnoux.

“I don’t see it as well, because the people who make the car have not changed,” said the Frenchman, who contested 32 grands prix with the Scuderia.

“At Ferrari we have been behind in terms of technology for years.”

He does, however, see one up side for the team and that is its line up for Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

“The drivers are good, both at the level of the best,” he added.

Only a few more days and we’ll be back on track with F1-75 again 🙌#essereFerrari 🔴 @Charles_Leclerc pic.twitter.com/KqIep8gA2K

— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) February 20, 2022

But while the former drivers have doubts about Ferrari’s technical department, team boss Mattia Binotto is “convinced” they’ve done the job with this year’s F1-75.

With Formula 1 introducing brand new cars, 2022 offers Ferrari a clean slate and the perfect opportunity to get back to winning ways.

“Right now there is no point in having a plan B, we are starting with a car in which we have put the best of ourselves,” Binotto said.

“Looking at the data we are convinced that the car will work.

“Then of course there is always the question of how it compares to its rivals. In F1 everything is always relative and we will have to wait for the first races to get the right picture.”

The Italian has also warned that just because a team is quick out of the blocks, it doesn’t mean the others won’t catch up quickly.

He added: “I think we will have to wait five or six races to understand the full potential of the car.

“I think it is possible that cars that are very fast at the first race will no longer be fast at the fifth race. The true values of the cars will emerge after a few races.”