Ferrari chairman John Elkann has urged “patience” from fans as he ruled out any further Formula 1 success until 2022.
The Italian team has taken a sizeable step backwards in 2020 as an aggressive push for downforce with their SF1000 hasn’t yielded the expected results and the class-leading engine from last year has been pegged back by FIA technical directives.
In response to falling back into the midfield pack, Ferrari has adopted changes to the technical structure at Maranello with an emphasis put on performance.
But, with development of the current cars much more restricted due to measures adopted in the wake of Covid-19, Elkann accepts the next two seasons are a lost cause.
“We aren’t competitive this year because of car design mistakes,” he said speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“We’ve had a series of structural weaknesses that have been present in the vehicle’s aerodynamics and dynamics for some time. We’ve also lost out in terms of engine power.
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“Ferrari aren’t competitive at the moment. We’ve seen that on the track and will continue to do so.
“The target is to start a new cycle in 2022 when the rules will have changed. Ferrari has always been, and will always continue to be there. We’ll be competitive again and will target success. We’re confident.”
In the meantime, however, Elkann is pleading with the ever expectant Tifosi to keep believing in Ferrari, this despite failing to win either championship since 2008.
“I’m asking the fans for patience,” he said.
“They’re suffering as much as us, but continue to get behind us and that’s why it’s important for us to be honest with them.
“There’s a long road ahead of us. When [Jean] Todt and [Michael] Schumi[acher] began their historic cycle, we were off the back of a 20-year dry spell going back to 1979.
“We’ll give everything in every Grand Prix. You’ll see that [Sebastian] Vettel will also do his bit, but I don’t want to give them false hope. We’ll give our all in the final months of 2020 and in 2021 to get back to being competitive in 2022; that’s the aim.
“There will be more space and general competitiveness will increase. It’s hard to give an estimate and it would be wrong to create false expectations, but we’d like to be among the most competitive by 2022.”
The lack of performance has put pressure on team boss Mattia Binotto, who only assumed the position last year following the ousting of Maurizio Arrivabene.
However, the Ferrari chairman has faith that he is the man to lead the Scuderia back to the front.
“I have total faith in Mattia Binotto. He has all the ability and attributes to start a new winning cycle,” said Elkann.
“He was at Ferrari with Todt and Schumacher, he knows how to combine ambition and success. We have a solid base with him. We know our weaknesses, want to progress and start winning again with young and ambitious drivers.
“Our managers, engineers and drivers will find the strength and creativity to take Ferrari back to the top,” he added. “I’ve personally not seen a closer and stronger spirit over the last 10 years.”
