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Ferrari chairman John Elkann has admitted that the long-lasting automotive producer’s Formula One workforce “is not competitive” after a depressing begin to the 2020 season that has left them far behind dominant Mercedes. “This year, we are not competitive mainly because of a series of design errors in the car,” Elkann mentioned in an interview with the Gazzetta Dello Sport printed on Tuesday. “We had a series of structural weaknesses that have been around for a long time, especially in aerodynamics. We also lost engine power. The reality is that our car is not competitive. It has been seen on the track and it will be seen again.”
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc completed second within the Austrian Grand Prix earlier this month, the primary race of a season delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, nevertheless it was already clear that the Scuderia’s automotive had issues.
Leclerc and teammate Sebastian Vettel then crashed into one another on the Styrian Grand Prix on the identical monitor per week later, earlier than the pair had been lapped by winner Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes in Hungary.
Four-time world champion Vettel completed sixth on the Hungaroring whereas Leclerc was 11th, forcing workforce chief Mattia Binotto to confess he was not shocked after realising at pre-season testing that the SF1000 automotive was slower than hoped.
Leclerc has 18 factors from three races, already considerably behind Lewis Hamilton’s main 63-point haul, whereas Vettel has simply 9.
Ferrari final gained the F1 driver’s championship in 2007 and the constructors’ title a yr later, however Elkann, a part of Italy’s highly effective Agnelli household and chairman of Fiat Chrysler, says there’s cause to be optimistic.
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“We are laying down the basis to be competitive and start winning again when the (technical) regulations change in 2022,” he mentioned, including that he had “total confidence in team principle Mattia Binotto.”
Elkann additionally defended the choice to not supply a brand new contract to Vettel and to construct round Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr, who will arrive in 2021, saying that “the new car will be born with them”.
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