That question looms as the sport prepares for the last race before taking its traditional summer break.
Since 1950, when the Formula One world championship began, there has only been one manufacturer that remains in the sport, and that is Ferrari. The Italian company has had many champions and has a strong tradition with their fans, the Tifosi. But the team has been very dry in taking titles since 2007 when Kimi Raikkonen took his first and only world title. Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel have had opportunities to break that losing streak, but both failed in the quest.
Now, in 2022, many observers believe that this year’s rules changes have allowed Ferrari to regain their composure. And at the beginning of the season, it seemed that with a 1-2 placing in Bahrain, the bad luck that had plagued them had ended.
Since Saudi Arabia, though, things have swung back in the negative direction again, beginning with Carlos Sainz Jr’s engine problems and now with Charles Leclerc taking and losing leads in three races. Leclerc, especially at the last race in France, seems to have lost his confidence and said as much, recalling that confidence has been an issue even as a youngster. It has made many fans and journalists scratch their heads.
But Leclerc has worked his way up to the seat he holds now. That means he has talent and the will to win. Still, errors are beginning to pile up, and his confidence turns down when he makes a mistake, as he did last week in France. He blames himself and is hard on himself.
If anyone thinks it is a mistake to classify Leclerc as error-prone, that person is his team manager, Mattia Binotto. He believes in his young driver and feels he can turn things around with a bit of self-confidence.
Mattia Binotto: I think it’s a bit of an unfair judgment. I think he (Leclerc) was driving certainly at the limit. Some things happen when you’re driving to the limit. Why did it happen? [we will see if] is there anything else. We will take our time with him to discuss and judge. But at the moment, there is no reason to blame him. We have always seen that Charles reacts very strongly when making mistakes. I’m pretty sure he will learn, and I’m pretty sure that he will be back in Hungary stronger and hungry.
This brings us to the issue of Ferrari’s team strategy. Many observers were baffled by the idea of pitting Sainz Jr. after overtaking Red Bull’s Sergio Perez for third place with only a few laps to go in last week’s French GP. Sainz Jr. sees it differently, even when the strategy cost him a podium spot and dropped him into fifth place.” I think the team is doing a very good job on strategy this year. Every time there is a tricky moment on strategy, we discuss things. We are not a disaster like people say we are. At Ferrari, we get super-criticized for things. We like to discuss things; we are open about them.”
Ferrari has another chance to set things right this weekend in Hungary, and the circuit is a good fit for the car. That said, time is getting short on the Formula One 2022 season, with only nine races left after Budapest. Can and will things turn around for Ferrari and Leclerc? That question looms as the sport prepares for the last race before taking its traditional summer break.
