F1 technical boss Ross Brawn, from 1997 to 2006 technical boss of Ferrari, sums it up Ferrari’s season very well  – “One should certainly have expected more from Ferrari,”

“they had a season full of highs and lows.” says Ross Brawn.

Of course, during Ross Brawn’s time at Ferrari, the Italian team dominated Formula 1 with Michael Schumacher. So one might expect the ex Ferrari man to be a harsh critic of his former team whose performances have been so inconsistent.

“At the winter test in Spain everything looked so promising, but in spring the optimism disappeared and disappointment made way. After all, the Ferrari World Championship season is a collection of missed opportunities,” Brawn says in his review of the Abu Dhabi GP.

“In the first part of the season Mercedes dominated, but after the summer break we experienced another Ferrari with six consecutive pole positions from Belgium to Mexico. Ferrari also won three times in a row, with Charles Leclerc’s triumph at Monza as the highlight,

“This summer high was followed by more difficult races, such as the Abu Dhabi finale”

One shining light for Brawn was the junior of the drivers, Charles Leclerc:

“The most positive aspect of Ferrari is Charles Leclerc. In his second Formula 1 year, he started seven times from pole position, more often than any other driver, he clinched ten podium positions and won twice. We don’t need to talk about his talent,

“It seems to be his destiny to become one of the stars of the coming decade.”

Obviously Brawn is no big fan of Sebastian Vettel, the British technical boss of F1 was quick to remind the interviewer of Vettel’s humiliation from Daniel Ricciardo in 2014.

“Certainly, there is room for improvement. Which is only normal in the second year of a GP career. But Charles has managed to get a four-time world champion like Sebastian Vettel into trouble. I’m sure Seb remembers 2014 when the same thing happened at Red Bull Racing with the young Daniel Ricciardo.”

“But the biggest task of all will be to give Vettel and Leclerc a competitive car on any type of circuit. Ferrari will also have to deal with stability problems.” concludes Brawn.

Abu Dhabi testing trackside footage

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