“It is not possible. Even F2 and F3 teams are doing better than Ferrari in terms of strategy and pit stops.” The review comes from 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg on Sky Sports after the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort in early September. In question, the extended pit stop at the Scuderia for Carlos Sainz, trapped by his mechanics not ready and who was missing a tire when the driver arrived on his marks.
A pit stop to forget for Ferrari #DutchGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/9KEykCkHLD
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 4, 2022
Before Zandvoort, there was Monaco, where Ferrari let Red Bull dictate the strategy and found themselves trapped in the game of pit stops. Then Silverstonewhere the stand took too long to formulate its instructions, leaving its two drivers to fight on the track, and did not attempt a double stop which stretched out its arms. And what about Hungarywhen the team decided to bring Charles Leclerc into the pits to put on hard, yet ineffective tires, against the advice of his driver? Without forgetting Spa Francorchampswhere the Monegasque started with the wrong tires in qualifying.
Ferrari, however, had one of the two best cars, and one of the best drivers, on the grid this season. But Max Verstappen is indeed crowned world champion with 113 points ahead of teammate Sergio Perez and 114 over Leclerc. Well helped by the sticks that the Scuderia has put in its own wheels.
Ferrari’s dumplings don’t come from a lack of preparation. “Strategy is anything but improvisation. The choices are prepared even before arriving, by planning for the weekend, with its own characteristics”, decrypts Cyril Abiteboul, the former boss of the Renault team. “And on this level, Ferrari is no less well prepared than anyone.”, he assures. But the Scuderia is not just any team either.
The strategic difficulties may be rooted, paradoxically, in its success. Struggling since late 2019, the Scuderia has managed to take advantage of the 2022 change in regulations to build one of the best cars on the board this season. A lightning progression that probably went a little too fast.
“I think the team was unsettled at the start of the season by the fact that they had the fastest car”says Michael Lamonato, who runs a podcast specializing in Formula 1 strategies. With a double from the opening Grand Prix in Bahrain, a podium for Charles Leclerc in Saudi Arabia, and another victory in Australia, expectations are quickly climbed around the Italian stable.
“It is above all a question of shock for Ferrari, which has gone from a position of ‘challenge these last thirteen, fourteen years, to that of ‘to defend early in the season”, abounds Cyril Abiteboul. Before the first race won by the Monegasque, the Scuderia remained two and a half years without a win. Its last constructor’s title dates back to 2008, and its last champion, Kimi Raikkonen in 2007, is not even on the grid anymore, having retired. “You could say they had the ‘worst’ start to the season by starting very fast, very high, which brought the pressure of having to defend.”, adds Abiteboul. And who says pressure says errors that accumulate.
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All these errors weighed on the ambitions of the Scuderia to weigh in the fight for the two titles, driver and constructor. “Decisions have not always been good, execution has not always been good, human interventions have not always been good”regrets Michael Lamonato. They lost so many points because of these bad strategies and mistakes.”
Leading the drivers’ championship with Leclerc until the fourth race of the season at Imola, Ferrari then experienced a significant drop in speed. After taking five places on the podium in the first three races, the Prancing Horse only climbed there five times in the following six Grands Prix. Successive errors wasted chances, even though the team was well placed. In Monaco, Charles Leclerc started from pole position. In Hungary, he was ahead of Max Verstappen, hampered by an engine problem, by seven places on the grid.
The observation is all the more bitter as their adversaries did not experience the same difficulties. “Red Bull and Mercedes are war machines”, analyzes Michael Lamonato. “Opposite, these are two teams above the lot which have dominated these last fifteen seasons and which have learned to manage stress and pressure., abounds Cyril Abiteboul. Finally, Ferrari finds itself well behind the Austrian team (165 points behind), and slightly ahead of the Silver Arrows (+67), yet without victories in 2022.
But compared to its two big opponents, the Scuderia is also a special team. “Ferrari is unlike any other team, it is truly the symbol of a country, with its pride, its haughtiness, its heritage“, explains Cyril Abiteboul. The stable works in its own way, sometimes against the flow of the rest of the paddock. “Ferrari is often guilty of ignoring its own mistakes, not dealing with them, or even not recognizing them., notes the strategy specialist. “All of this leads to issues with the work culture, an inability to learn from mistakes.” Lamonato breath.
“It’s a very special situation, with a lot of pressure from the fans and the media.”
Michael Lamonatoat Franceinfo: sports
A way of doing things applied by the manager of Ferrari, Mattia Binotto. The Italian, at the helm of the Scuderia since 2018, rarely speaks about the mistakes of his workforce after the races, almost always defends the strategy, and prefers to limit his analyzes to the behavior and pace of the car. “There are often efforts by public figures to shield the rest of the team from such criticism.“adds Michael Lamonato.
#FrenchGP: il debrief di @marc_gene #essereFerrari pic.twitter.com/GGL3Xk1G4b
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) July 24, 2022
The short strategy debrief videos shared after each race on social media are not enough to satisfy fans, who are increasingly demanding internal changes. “To win, you need excellence in every way […] If you often make the same mistakes, it means that there is something to change”explained the former manager of the Scuderia Jean Todt at the Festival dello Sport, gathering of Italian sport, at the end of September.
The most successful team in the history of Formula 1, but which has not risen to the roof of the world since 2008, can it evolve and reverse the trend next year? For Michael Lamonato, the Italian collective will learn the lessons of the season. “This experience will inevitably make them grow, they will become better.”, he predicts. “They have the capacity to clean up these few strategic errors, and they are carried by a very good duo of pilots”, says Cyril Abiteboul. In 2023, the whole Italian team will be expected at the turn, to definitively erase this trial and error.