Ferrari has vowed to respond after a “disappointing” 1000th Formula 1 race but CEO Louis Camilleri says the team is “in a hole”.
Charles Leclerc ran as high as third in the early stages of the Tuscan Grand Prix but would end the race in eighth, and this was only after Kimi Raikkonen had been given a five-second penalty.
In contrast, Sebastian Vettel dropped down the order after picking up a damaged front wing on the opening lap and could do no better than P10 as only two cars finished behind the Ferraris on the track in the attritional race.
“A very disappointing result brings to an end a historic weekend for Scuderia Ferrari at our home track, Mugello, with our 1000th Formula 1 Grand Prix,” team boss Mattia Binotto reflected.
“While yesterday [in qualifying], at least with Charles we managed to get a result in line with our expectations, today we didn’t have the pace to allow our drivers to fight with their nearest rivals.
“Both Charles and Sebastian did the best they could given the performance level of the car.”
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After the race, Leclerc admitted Ferrari was “just slow” at their second race in Italy in a week and worryingly, Binotto offered a very bleak outlook for the rest of 2020.
“Leclerc is right, we are disappointed,” he said via Sky Italia. “We had no race pace. After a few laps, we lose pace and the result is the consequence.
“There is no explanation, we suffer from a marked deterioration of the tyres.
“Some small updates will already be there from the next race, but it will not make a difference,” the Swiss chief added.
“We need a step back to reset, we also work hard in the factory to correct the base of the package, we all have to get out of it together.”
But with development of the current cars limited for 2021 due to measures agreed in the wake of Covid-19, CEO Camilleri notes it is unlikely Ferrari can make the big gains they need.
“Realistically it’s going to be tough,” he said. “[In] Formula 1 we’re always fighting time, on track and in development. There’s no magic bullet and it will take time.
“I’m hoping with a bit more flexibility in the regulations next year we can at least step it up from where we are.
“Mercedes, hats off to them, they’ve done an incredible job, we’ll see in 2022 with the new regulations whether it creates a reset.”
Camilleri also insisted there was no blame game to be played as the team comes together to try and improve their performance.
“We are in a hole now, we know we are in a hole,” he said.
“It’s a confluence of factors, but anything I say will come across as excuses and we’re not into excuses.
“What matters is to focus on the issues we have, to work hard with determination to [get to] what we consider to be our rightful place.”