Since the arrival of Mattia Binotto at the head of Scuderia Ferrari, the team has not yet been able to win another Formula 1 world title, and with the rumours about his future within the team in doubt, TJ13 looks back at the most recent blunders and lists them as a catalog of woe.

An engineer by training, Mattia Binotto joined Scuderia Ferrari in 1995. The Swiss-Italian first focused on the engine part of the business before moving on to the management of the Italian team when the position was left vacant by Maurizio Arrivabene. Now the Ferrari boss is in trouble with his job on the line.

The team with the most triumphs (16 titles, 242 victories, 789 podiums and 238 pole positions) in Formula 1 has not won a drivers’ or constructors’ championship since 2007 with Kimi Raïkkönen, when Jean Todt was the head of the team.

Today, Mattia Binotto’s mission is to put the prancing horse back on the road to success.

The Scuderia has received a lot of criticism for its management during this period. In 2019, the car is good, but struggles to compete with Mercedes’ supremacy. In 2020 and 2021, the cars did not allow Charles Leclerc, Sebastian Vettel or Carlos Sainz to win.

 

Then came the 2022 season, with a brand new technical regulation allowing the hierarchy to be turned upside down. The Maranello-based outfit took the correct path, as it emerged from the winter tests with the best performing car. It is now the year when the reds will be able to fight for the title!

After numerous strategic errors, major reliability problems and driver blunders, at the halfway point of the season Scuderia Ferrari is not in first place in the constructors’ or drivers’ standings.

Today, the editorial staff of Auto-moto.com offers you a compilation of the best blunders of Scuderia Ferrari, under the tutelage of Mattia Binotto.

 

Russian Grand Prix 2019

The two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel started first and third respectively in the Russian Grand Prix. Both men manage to get a better start than the Mercedes. The German even managed to overtake Lewis Hamilton to catch up with his team-mate and come out in first place at the exit of the first corner.

From then on, it was panic in the Ferrari squad. The pre-race instructions were not respected. The Monegasque asked for his position back.

The radio went crazy on all sides, so much so that the Maranello clan no longer focused on the race of their opponents, who took advantage of the opportunity to make up ground. By the time the pit stop started, it was already too late. The two Mercedes found the opening to the Ferraris.

At the end of the race, Charles Leclerc suffered an engine problem. Ironically, the young driver had just managed to pass his teammate.

 

Monaco Grand Prix 2021

That year, the Ferrari was unable to compete with the Red Bulls and Mercedes for the win. However, given its short wheelbase, there is only one place where the prancing horse can gallop to victory: Monaco.

Charles Leclerc is still chasing his first victory in the principality. The trend was confirmed in qualifying, since after the first attempt at Q3 he was provisionally on pole position!

On his second run, the Monegasque took precautions by being the first to start. Unfortunately, he crashed his Ferrari into the barrier and prevented anyone from improving. Charles Leclerc is on pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix.

What about his car? The damage is significant. After inspection, the red garage did not decide to change the entire engine of car n°16, to allow its driver to avoid any penalty.

A mistake that would prove fatal, as Charles Leclerc saw his gearbox fail just before the start…

 

Monaco Grand Prix 2022

Charles Leclerc in 2022 managed to take pole position without crashing his car into the barriers.

Before the start, a thunderstorm hit the Principality, delaying the start by several dozen minutes. The tension was felt on the grid, until the cars were allowed to run.

The start went well for Ferrari, which retained first and second place. In Monaco, it is almost impossible to overtake. What can happen to Charles Leclerc?

The track conditions are gradually improving as the bad weather subsides. Should we wait to put on slick tyres or should we switch to intermediate tyres as soon as possible?

 

 

Scuderia Ferrari opted for the second strategic choice. Charles Leclerc put on intermediate tyres, before the Red Bulls switched to slick tyres two laps later. The pit crew then realised that they had made a huge mistake. He called his driver back two laps later to put on the right tyres. But it was already too late.

Sergio Pérez, Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen managed to get past the Monegasque, who saw victory slip away from him once again in the Principality.

 

 

Hungarian Grand Prix 2022

At the Hungarian Grand Prix, the Dutchman completely missed his qualifying session and flew away from 10th place on the grid. In contrast, the second and third-placed Ferraris had every chance of taking a “quiet” victory.

 

On pole position, George Russell managed to hold on to his position and to hold off the Ferraris at the start of the race. The first round of pit stops allowed Charles Leclerc to pass his teammate before tackling the Mercedes.

 

Behind him, Max Verstappen set a blistering pace. In order to deviate from the Red Bull driver’s strategy and fearing premature wear, the Scuderia called in its driver to fit hard tyres.

The latter proved disastrous in view of the very cold temperatures that weekend in Hungary. The Ferrari’s pace began to plummet, to the point where victory was once again slipping away before his eyes.

 

In desperation, the Italian team recalled Charles Leclerc to stop the haemorrhage by fitting him with soft tyres. Unfortunately, the time lost was immense. The Monegasque came out far back in 6th position, the same as at the finish.