Workforce boss Fred Vasseur’s admission to his rising frustration paints a grim image for the Maranello legends.
As identified elsewhere, Ferrari is at present third within the standings with 298 factors, simply forward of Crimson Bull which has 290. Of these 290 Max Verstappen has scored 273.
Singapore, the place the scarlet vehicles have fared properly through the years, was one other weekend that promised a lot however delivered little, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton primarily having fun with the scraps left by McLaren, Mercedes and the Dutchman.
“What’s mega irritating is that the final two weekends in Baku after which Singapore, at first of the weekend, the tempo was there,” stated Vasseur.
Whereas Hamilton’s brake difficulty dominated within the closing laps, Leclerc had suffered an identical difficulty nearly from the beginning.
“Very early within the race we requested Charles to do a elevate and coast,” revealed Vasseur. “It is not only a matter of doing a elevate and coast if you’re dropping a bit of bit on the finish of the straight,” he added, “it is also to seek out the suitable braking level.
“In all of the races that we had been a bit extra, a bit much less, a bit extra, a bit much less, a bit extra on the rear, a bit extra on the entrance. You needed to change the brake steadiness,” he sighed.
“On the finish, you lose in all probability extra on the reference for you if you end up driving the automobile than on the pure potential.”
Even Hamilton’s late quickest lap was of no comfort to the Frenchman.
“It is a pretend quickest lap for me,” he insisted. “We aren’t in the identical state of affairs. What I can say is that when he was pushing, the tempo was there. The hole with the vehicles in entrance of him was coherent with the delta that you’ve on the tyres. However nothing greater than this.
“It is also irritating for us,” he continued, “as a result of we had the sensation that once we did three laps in a row with out saving, that the tempo was not unhealthy.
“We did not extract one of the best from the automobile, I feel, truthfully,” he admitted. “We’re doing 29.7s in Q1 and 29.7s in Q3, however we’re struggling on the finish of all of the races to not be on the again foot.
“For the staff, it is mega irritating. The staff and drivers are for all of us, as a result of we’re not pushing due to the brakes. On the finish of the day, we’re placing a lot effort to be there, that when it’s a must to do all of the races on the backfoot, it is not good.”
“From lap eight, mainly it was all about managing these brakes,” concurred Leclerc. “It made our race very, very difficult.
“Sadly, we do not have the race automobile to struggle with the blokes in entrance,” he admitted. “McLaren at all times had the identical hole on us in comparison with the start of the 12 months. Crimson Bull did a step from Monza and the identical degree of McLaren.
“Mercedes now could be on the similar degree of McLaren and Crimson Bull, after which there’s us, and, it is not straightforward, clearly, since you need to struggle for higher positions. However for the time being, it simply looks like we’re type of passengers to the automobile and we can not extract way more what’s there to salvage from the remainder of the season.
“I would not describe it as probably the most troublesome season,” he insisted. I feel each time you do not struggle for wins, it is troublesome, however clearly, coming from a 12 months like final 12 months, the place you might be preventing for the world champion, the Constructor Championship, and you then come right here with excessive expectations…
“You must decrease your expectations from the start, and you do not even see a development all year long. It is not straightforward.”
“It takes numerous vitality, however that does not demotivate me,” he replied when requested how troublesome it’s to just accept the staff’s present place, “it motivates me, if something, way more to try to flip the state of affairs round.
“Nevertheless it’s very powerful, particularly after a race the place you aren’t even preventing for a podium, it’s a must to handle plenty of points. It is simply not a pleasant feeling.”
Nonetheless, regardless of his quite a few points, Hamilton stays upbeat.
“I am trying on the positives on monitor,” he wrote on social media. “The media headlines solely inform one story, one the place we do not get issues fairly proper, or issues do not go our means. However what I’ve been centered on over the previous few months is the opposite story. The one about how this staff responds when issues go improper. How we get again up, and we go once more.
“Yesterday was the right instance,” he continued. “We acquired the technique proper, however the brake difficulty set us again simply when momentum was constructing. So now we get again within the manufacturing facility, study from this final race, and plan for the following one.
“I am actually happy with this staff,” he added, “and need to assist ship the outcomes they and the tifosi deserve. I see the progress we’re making, and the laborious work that goes into each race, however that is Ferrari.
“Progress alone shouldn’t be sufficient,” he admitted. “To realize greatness we have to go additional, be higher. There may be a lot we will obtain collectively, and if we will construct on our successes, and alter the issues we have to, I totally imagine we are going to get there.”
Whereas appreciating the seven-time world champion’s positivity, one can not assist however really feel that his phrases are the form of factor we hear from politicians earlier than an election… and you understand how that often works out.
