F1 | It's time to trust Ferrari

“We're tired of seeing others celebrate, now it's our turn.” It is necessary to start from this sentence by Mattia Binotto, formulated to Sky's microphones after the Yas Marina race, to understand the change in mentality that took place in Maranello.

In a season monopolized by the duel between Hamilton and Versrappen, Ferrari albeit quietly changed its skin, its approach, in short it changed while drinkers and Anglo-Germans beat each other to the sound of poles, victories, spins, controversies and complaints. While Red Bull and Mercedes were relentlessly humiliating each other, Ferrari worked on itself in a profitable way, partly amidst general indifference and partly also amidst general disaffection, because it is clear that too many failures and years of fasting have created a rift between Ferrari and the fans, with the Scuderia no longer perceived on a large scale as the National Motors.

2020 represented the lowest point, yet the Red Team was able to raise its head again, working on what little it could. The engine, new and no longer "restrained" by agreements with the Federation with the flavor of a disguised penalty, was the first big step forward. The two tokens spent on the rear axle served to give the SF21 more stability and traction, and the aerodynamic work improved overall efficiency, with the 2021 single-seater never suffering from the drag of the SF1000. What has remained unchanged, due to the regulation which provided for very little margin for intervention, is the front end, and it is no coincidence that on some very severe tracks with the front the Ferrari struggled to work with the tires and to "turn ”, suffering quite a bit (just think of Portimao and the bad performance at Paul Ricard).

Even from this last point of view, however, Cavallino has proven to be a very different team from the one that was lost in the "we have to understand"and "let's analyze the data“. The tire problems were addressed on the simulator, in the factory, working on the settings, on the kinematics, in short, intervening promptly; finally when Ferrari develops it no longer has surprises of correlation between the virtual and real track data, but has an efficient structure.

There is no longer the risk that an update or modification will not work because the means are not adequate. And this is an important fact, which should not be underestimated. It is no coincidence that in Losail, a dull GP, the Red team went slower than it could precisely to avoid stressing the tyres, but nevertheless achieved a double points finish, while in France it was not only not competitive, but had collapsed mercilessly slipping out of the points.

The joy of victory, the most beautiful inspiration, was certainly missing. The SF21 could have won in Monte Carlo and almost won Silverstone, but overall Ferrari was unable to exploit the opportunities as McLaren did in Monza or Alpine in Hungary. The lack of two seasons is a boulder, but the anger at missing the top step of the podium cannot overshadow the progress and the good work done.

According to most, McLaren and Aston Martin should have easily beaten a now scared, downsized and shrunken Ferrari. With the regulations effectively blocked, Ferrari instead confirmed that it has greater depth than many teams, clearly jumping from sixth to third place in the Constructors' Championship, despite all the efforts having long been dedicated to the 2022 project.

For all these elements it is really time to put them aside vis controversy, and trust Binotto's Ferrari. It is not an easy exercise, because the failures and management of recent years, as well as the gap accumulated by the top of the class, do not authorize dreams of glory. But if you look analytically at the work done, at the motivations, at the enthusiasm of a consistent and ready driver like Carlos Sainz, at the hopes of the spearhead Charles Leclerc, at the team's ability to react even though they were actually only able to intervene on the rear axle in a incisive, one cannot help but think that Ferrari has finally launched itself towards a happier horizon.

Third place in the Constructors is to be welcomed, it's time to "believe in it" and team up around a team that is working in unison in one direction, with a return to the top in 2022 being the declared objective. It's time for trust. Then we will see if it will be glory: the arduous sentence for posterity.

Antonino Rendina

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