Ferrari is itself a paradox. There is no other brand so handcuffed to triumph as that of The Prancing Horse, no matter how long he has not celebrated a Formula 1 title since Kimi Raikkonen was crowned in 2007, more than 15 years ago, and thanks to the fratricidal fight that Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso maintained in that explosive course in which they lived together at McLaren . The most universal symbol of car racing lives chained to the World Cup, its main showcase and reason for being, in an alliance that lately seems more like a martyrdom. In their relentless pursuit of triumph, those who govern the Scuderia They have installed it in a dynamic of perpetual transformation that contrasts head-on with the structural stability promoted by Red Bull and Mercedes, the main rivals in the red car competition, both by entity and by muscle.
There is no peace for Ferrari in the offices, which have become a parade of executives who arrive in Maranello with the greatest enthusiasm and who then leave buzzing, either by choice or fired, a cycle that has been repeated incessantly lately. A most illustrative example is enough: in the last decade, the Italian team has had up to five different directors, while that same role, at Mercedes and Red Bull, has been occupied at all times by Toto Wolff and Christian Horner, respectively. Since Stefano Domenicalli and Marco Mattiacci took over with the 2014 championship underway, the baton has passed into the hands of Maurizio Arrivabene (2015-2018), Mattia Binotto (2019-2022) and Fred Vasseur, the current head of the structure. With the statistics in hand, his arrival in charge, at the beginning of the year and coming from Alfa Romeo, has not provided the calm that a troop with the sword of Damocles over their heads demands.
The parade of relevant positions within the organization, such as that of Laurent Mekies, the sports director, recruited by Alpha Tauri for 2024; or that of David Sánchez, the chief designer of the F1 car, are not the best of indications. Even less are the numbers of a car, the SF-23, which this course has only been able to accumulate three podiums, all by Charles Leclerc, but no victory.
The prototype of this season has been infected by the instability that runs through the offices. Its shortfall in generating downforce—the vertical force that sticks it to the ground—makes it unpredictable, the worst of effects for a driver who goes on the defensive. Carlos Sainz is fifth in the general table, with a three-point margin over Leclerc (sixth), while Lewis Hamilton, fourth, is more than 50 points behind both. That’s nothing when compared to the 339 points between the Reds and Red Bull in the manufacturers’ table. With Max Verstappen and the company of the red buffalo practically planning the celebrations of an exercise in which they have passed the roller, Ferrari lives with an eye on 2024, but without neglecting the brawl that it maintains with Aston Martin and Mercedes, and the that depends on a good loot.
At Monza, this Friday morning, both Sainz and Leclerc were experimenting with future concepts, to later focus on setting up a car specially decorated for the home race, on the occasion of the victory in the last 24 Hours of Le Mans. . “We still have a Constructors’ World Championship to fight for with Mercedes and Aston Martin. I think we know exactly what we want from next year’s car. Another thing is if we will fully achieve it ”, agreed Sainz, the fastest in a day that did not leave a very clear picture.
For the man from Madrid, the future depends on trusting in the methods and tools that Ferrari has, those that in 2022 allowed the best car on the grid to be squared in the first third of the calendar, and that the strategy ruined. “We need to believe as much as possible in our processes, our simulations and the information that we transmit”, points out the man from Madrid.
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