F1: Ferrari Chairman not Expecting Wins in F1 Before 2022

In a big statement, Ferrari Chairman John Elkann has admitted that he doesn’t expect Ferrari to be front runners in Formula 1 before the 2022 season.

2022 is earmarked by a lot of teams as a chance to break into the front running teams of Mercedes and Red Bull, with F1 being entirely overhauled in every department bar the engine regulations.

In 2020, Ferrari have massively dropped off the pace, amplified by Mercedes somehow finding even more pace. However, with various cost-cutting measures being put in place, by both new financial regulations and as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ferrari are in a situation where they are unable to rectify their issues short term.

This includes a chassis freeze between the 2020 and 2021 seasons, something that Elkann has specifically pointed out as being a major factor in the expected slow recovery.

"[Ferrari is going] through a difficult period that starts far back," he said. "We have not won a constructors' world championship since 2008 nor a drivers' one since 2007.

"There has been Red Bull's winning cycle thanks to aerodynamic capacity and then Mercedes for their great ability in hybrid engine technologies.

"This year we are not competitive thanks to project errors. We have had a number of structural weaknesses that have existed for some time in aerodynamics and in the dynamics of the vehicle. We have also lost out in engine power.

"The reality is that our car is not competitive. You saw it on the track and you will see it again.

"Today we are laying the foundations for being competitive and returning to winning when the rules change in 2022. I am convinced of this.

"We must be realistic and aware of the structural weaknesses with which we have been living for a decade, and which the transition to hybrid [power units] has underlined.

"We have given the okay to the new rules that will start from 2022, because we believe it is right that there is greater competitiveness within F1.

"We do not see the limitation of budget caps as a constraint on our ability to win. We take it as a challenge.

"Our engineers, our mechanics and our drivers will find strength and creativity within those bonds to bring Ferrari back up. Personally I have never seen in the last 10 years such a cohesive and strong spirit."

He has also said how the team must be transparent about the situation, and asks for patience from the team’s loyal Tifosi fanbase.

"The fans are suffering as much as we are, but we know they are close to us," he said. "This is why it is important to be clear and honest with them. A long path awaits us.

"When [Jean] Todt opened that historic cycle [of titles] in 2000, we came from a fast that had lasted for over 20 years from 1979. It took time from him landing in Maranello in 1993 to Ferrari's return to success.

"The important thing then is to work on the track and off the track, in a cohesive way, building the Ferrari we want to step-by-step."

Elkann has also reiterated his faith in current Ferrari Team Principle Mattia Binotto, after rumours about him being replaced after just over 1 year leading F1’s oldest team.

"Total trust," he said. "Also because Mattia Binotto, who has taken the helm of the Scuderia for a year, has all the skills and characteristics to start a new winning cycle. He was in Ferrari with Todt and Schumi.

"He knows how to win and from next year he will work with two drivers who are young and ambitious like us."

For Ferrari’s Chairman to come out with such a big negative statement about the team shows just how dire the situation is for Ferrari. To make matters worse, 2020 is set to see 3 Italian based races, the second of which being Ferrari’s 1000th Grand Prix, with the event being partially named in honour of that milestone.