Theorem | Ferrari must watch out for its own credibility

F1 News

5 September 2022 at 22:39
  • GPblog.com

Ferrari saw their chances of winning the world title at the Dutch Grand Prix diminish yet again after a disappointing result. While Nico Rosberg strongly criticised the performance of the Italian team, Mattia Binotto reacted strongly. However, the team boss has to be careful that his credibility is not put on the line.

Binotto's team did not look strong again at Zandvoort. During a pit stop, Ferrari left a wheelgun unattended in the pit lane, after which Sergio Perez drove over it hard. Furthermore, the team took only three tyres with them during a tyre change, causing them to lose a lot of time.

The circuit seemed to provide an excellent opportunity for Ferrari to beat rival Red Bull Racing once again. In both qualifying and the race, however, the team was unable to put in a top performance and finished only third and eighth, ahead of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz respectively.

Binotto lets criticism slide

On several occasions, this season Binotto has shown himself to be a relaxed team boss who does not take decisions lightly, which is to be commended. Although things have gone wrong at Ferrari on a number of occasions during the season, Binotto's calmness has allowed Ferrari to take the time to resolve matters.

However, after Rosberg's criticism that the team boss needs to replace a number of people, Binotto reacted like a wasp. The Ferrari chief decided to hit back by saying that the Sky Sports analyst was talking too easy because he had no responsibility.

However, the words of the simple world champion made sense. The problems within the Ferrari team are not of one day but have been going on for months. If Ferrari want to compete for the world title for a whole season, they need to make radical changes. Binotto should therefore not spend his energy waving away the criticism, but instead, address the painful situation.