The biggest mystery in Formula One going into the 2022 season may be Ferrari, but the man at the center of it all isn’t holding his breath.
The squad leader who has endured three years of “fatigue [at] not being able to contend for the best spots” is Mattia Binotto.
There was hope that he would put an end to Ferrari’s championship drought, which had lasted since Kimi Raikkonen’s victory in 2007, when he took over as team owner at the start of the 2019 season.
But for the last three years, the squad has merely managed to hang on with the midfield while Red Bull and Mercedes compete for the title of sport’s best team.
For F1 executives, who understand that the Prancing Horse’s marketing might be what opens the door to America and the Far East, the relative decline of this once-impressive team has been a long-standing sore. Ferrari has transformed from a company recognized for its frequent title challenges to one that consistently contends for the title of “best of the rest.”
They achieved it in 2021, finishing third behind the two headliners and triumphing in their fight with McLaren on the undercard. The Drivers’ Championship finishes of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, respectively, were fifth and seventh; not exactly a happily ever after.
But what 2022 offers is a realistic prospect that F1 will progress toward more equality. Rule revisions are expected to hold Red Bull and Mercedes in check and provide teams like Ferrari, McLaren, and Williams a chance to routinely compete for race victories or at least the championship.
That’s what we assumed, at least. Binotto doesn’t seem at all convinced when asked if Ferrari’s search for a new champion is likely to come to an end.
“I lack confidence. The reason for this is that, in my opinion, the margin between Mercedes and Red Bull is still substantial and indicates that those teams are quite powerful, according to Binotto.
“It was essential for us that we prioritize 2022 and have put a lot of effort into it.
Because we were aware that it would have been challenging for us to have a decent or competitive car in 2022 if we hadn’t done that.
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Can the Scuderia recapture their 2019 form?
But let’s think positively for a moment. Ferrari did indeed improve in 2021. But more significantly, those improvements in the power unit, which can also be used in 2022, were directly related to those gains. The Scuderia can construct their house in the shape of 2022 on that firm rock.
Infrastructure upgrades at Maranello have kept pace with power unit advancements, and the team’s cutting-edge simulator is fully operational and ready to assist Ferrari in the development of their new vehicle.
With the addition of a driver lineup that includes Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, whom Team Principal Mattia Binotto has rightfully referred to as the greatest in the industry, there is hope that Ferrari can at long last recover after a challenging couple of years.
Let’s check in with those red cars, which will be unveiled on February 17, and see where they are when we get in Bahrain for the first Grand Prix on March 20.
Will the difference-maker be the car and the cap?
During testing with the new car, “porpoising,” side pods, and wings were hot topics. As we begin the new season, there are explanations for this. The new car, which features wider wheels and significant aerodynamic improvements intended to make racing more intense, will be the major x-factor for the whole 2022 season. Additionally, F1 is still working to reduce costs in an effort to raise the level of competition in the sport. Even while the cap does not apply to employee pay, there are always advantages outside of it. Compared to previous season, when the cap was $145 million, 2022’s cap is $140 million. It might not be enough of a shift to put Williams or Haas in the first row, but it should allow Ferrari, McLaren, and perhaps Alpine to add more variety to the championship.
Ferrari is under a lot of strain, which is why 2022 will either make or break the Scuderia.
After spending several years in the background of its rivals, Ferrari is planning to challenge for the World Title in 2022.
After a disappointing season in 2020, Ferrari had something of a redemption year in 2021. That year, the Italian team’s sixth-place finish in Formula One was their poorest since 1980. They were able to regain their form the previous year, finishing third in the Constructors’ Championship with 5 podium finishes.
Mattia Binotto, the team’s principal, asserted that they hope to achieve greater heights in 2022. Ferrari was one of the first teams on the grid to begin working on their 2022 car, and many people have anticipated that they will once again be dominant.
The Scuderia will likely fight for race victories this year, according to Binotto. But can the Tifosi expect their side to win the World Championship once more with the dynamic driving duo of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc?
2022 will be a turning point for Ferrari, according to Gary Anderson of The Race. They are without a doubt the most well-known and successful name in F1 history. Therefore, the Maranello-based squad will be under extreme pressure to perform.
Why Ferrari “cannot be sure” about their 2022 title defense
Mattia Binotto of Ferrari has tempered hopes for the team’s competitiveness in 2022, saying they “cannot be sure” under the new rules.
Despite their apparent advantage in having turned their attention to the new season far earlier than Red Bull and Mercedes, as the two top teams fought for the title, Ferrari team manager Mattia Binotto has stated that the team is not in a position to be optimistic for 2022.
Ferrari had a strong 2021, finishing the year far ahead of longtime rivals McLaren and moving up to third in the Constructors’ Championship.
However, Binotto has downplayed the likelihood of Ferrari emerging as the front-runners of the new regulation cycle in 2022, despite having an ever-improving power unit, a much more competitive SF21, and a driver pairing that is operating at full capacity after Carlos Sainz replaced the struggling Sebastian Vettel.
“We realized that without taking these steps, it would have been difficult for us to have a decent car or a competitive car in 2022. As a result, we put a lot of effort into 2022 and gave it top priority.
“Does that give us complete confidence? No, we are unable to be certain. because none of the other references exist.
What we do know is that we gave it our all, and I can see that whatever we have is the best outcome of a collective effort, and that was what was most crucial for us.
Has Ferrari a chance in the F1 in 2022?
Ferrari has grasped their opportunity and gotten back on track by investing large money in the 2022 car early last year and making the most of the additional wind tunnel budget due to their disappointing season in 2020. Just seven points separate their current total of 124 points from their final 2020 score.
In 2022, who will compete for Ferrari?
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. from Ferrari and Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo from McLaren are both set to compete in 2022. That means that Williams, Alfa Romeo, Haas, and AlphaTauri are the only teams without a confirmed driver for the 2022 Formula One season.
Can Ferrari resurrect itself?
At the Canadian Grand Prix, Ferrari produced a stunning comeback. Vettel won the race but fell to second place due to a five-second penalty.
Unfavorable terms like “spineless,” “ridiculous,” and “pointless” have been used to criticize Ferrari’s performance in Formula One this year. Only four podium results were achieved by Italian automakers in the first six races of the season, leaving them more than 100 points behind Mercedes in the Constructor’s Standings.
The Canadian Grand Prix, at least in terms of making an impact, appears to have altered the situation. Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari won the race, but due to a five-second penalty for an unsafe maneuver, he was forced to settle for second place on the podium. Charles Leclerc, the other Ferrari competitor, finished third. Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes finished first, but the results made it apparent that Ferrari can still mount a season-long comeback.
Over the past few years, Ferrari has been steadily gaining ground on Mercedes, and the Montreal track proved ideal for them. Hamilton claims that Ferrari’s engine mode and straight-line speed were so superior that he was unable to compete with Vettel on the track. That was also evident throughout the race, as Vettel not only won the pole but also held the lead for the bulk of it.
Lewis Hamilton, the current world champion, said, “I’m hoping this marks a turning point for them because I think the rest of the season will be filled with intense competition. That’d be amazing.”
Mattia Binotto, team president of Ferrari, wasn’t as upbeat. He was tired of making comeback predictions that might not materialize. He reportedly said, “Although it is a circuit that is power sensitive and rear limited, it is not the same as Barcelona, which is front limited, making it exceedingly difficult to gauge and predict the performance. Rather than Barcelona, Bahrain is more comparable. Although we were aware that moving to Canada would bring us closer to Mercedes, I doubt we anticipated exactly how close. Since there have been no upgrades since we owned the automobile in Spain, let’s suppose that it still has all of our weaknesses. It is as simple as that.”
He continued, “There will be other races that are not like Canada, so we need to keep fighting and confronting them. We need to work, attempt to better.”
Ferrari may still trail Mercedes by 123 points, but the Scuderia has gained some impetus in its pursuit of the Silver Arrows. There should be a lot of confidence for everyone at Maranello given the way Vettel controlled the race, won it, and how he was punished for what many analysts believed to be an unpunishable act. Ferrari needs to capitalize on their newfound confidence and work to get the greatest performance possible out of their SF90 because the season is still far from over.
Why are Ferrari’s results so strong in F1 2022?
When compared to the cars Red Bull and Mercedes only had for the second test in Bahrain, its debut vehicle was possibly several weeks in the making. Ferrari was able to structure its usage of its 2022 development budget on having a cleanly finished car design that it could be confidently use to start the season.
Ferrari F1 2022: Is it faster than Mercedes?
Ferrari and Red Bull have “inherently faster cars” than Mercedes, according to George Russell. During Friday’s practice sessions for the 2022 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, George Russell bemoans the performance of his vehicle, claiming that competitors Ferrari and Red Bull have a “inherently faster car” than Mercedes.
Is Ferrari returning to Formula One?
Ferrari’s victory in Bahrain was cause for tremendous celebration for the Italian media, where anticipation is already growing and the flag is once more flying high above Maranello.
Ferrari “returns to the top with full merit from Singapore 2019 after two years from the last time,” according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Sainz finished a superb second, and here is the double that gets the year off to a good start: Leclerc took the pole, set the fastest lap, and won the race.
After spending months sacrificing the present to construct for the future, Ferrari’s master plan has allowed them to gain ground at the start of the 2022 season, and the Italian press was quick to congratulate Ferrari for it.
According to a Corriere dello Sport article, Ferrari was forced to swallow bitter pills in order to start the 2022 car project ahead of the competition and be in the driver’s seat at the dawn of a new technological era.
“After the allegations surrounding the power units of 2019 and the FIA investigation, it was important to rebuild competitiveness and credibility from scratch.”