Ferrari CEO Camilleri rules out any success before 2022
Ferrari’s Formula 1 team might need to wait until the 2022 season before its can be in contention for top positions again, says Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri.
The Scuderia has found itself in a dismal situation this year with its car failing to pose a challenge to its usual rivals, Mercedes and Red Bull. In fact, Ferrari has slipped down the pecking order in 2020 with the team delivering dreadul performance level and reliability in the recent two events, the Belgian and Italian Grands Prix.
After failing to score a single point at Spa due to a pure lack of pace, Scuderia’s woes continued on home soil at Monza. Charles Leclerc and Sebatian Vettel qualified only 13th and 17th respectively, In the 53-lap race, the German was forced to retire due to brake issues while his Monegasque teammate crashed into the tyre barriers at the Parabolica corner after struggling with the rear end of his SF1000.
Ferrari has a big mountain to climb if it wants to get back to the top of the field with an underpowered engine that cannot be improved due to the COVID-19-enforced development freeze. However, Camilleri is sure that Ferrari Team Principial Mattia Binotto is the right person to steer Formula 1’s most successful team out of this situation.
“I have total confidence in Mattia Binotto and his team. The results aren’t there to prove what I’m saying, but these things take time. Regretfully in the past, there has been too much pressure and a history of people being let go. There was somewhat of a revolving-door atmosphere, and I’m putting a stop to that.”
Camilleri has revealed that he is adamant to change the culture at Ferrari despite the immense pressure from the outside. The Alexandria-born 65-year-old intends to create a more relaxed atmosphere inside the team where people do not need to fear for conseqeunces after every single mistake.
“So I want to ensure that stability remains in place, despite the unbelievable pressure there is on the team, particularly from the Italian media, who are quite brutal at times, calling for heads to roll, but that’s not the solution. I brought in a more long-term strategy, particularly in terms of investments. Getting people to work more in teams, that always takes a bit of time. You don’t change cultures overnight.”
As for the future, Camilleri believes that “the situation cannot improve in 2021. For 2022, the new regulations come into play, and every time there has been a huge revolution in terms of the technical framework, it can change the pecking order. We have the talent, work ethic and determination to get there, and I’m confident we will be up there battling again.”
