F1 | Ferrari, unequivocal message: finally the winning mentality

La “desire to win” it suddenly supplanted the "desire to understand", and this is already a step forward. What emerged on the sidelines of the Ferrari team's presentation last February 26th is certainly a change in approach that gives rise to hope, at least in ideas.

The Red team projects itself into the upcoming season aware that it will have to do everything, literally throwing its heart over the obstacle, to erase the still fresh nightmare of 2020. A difficult task, an arduous road, for a team that realistically has no great possibility of quickly moving up the rankings.

Precisely for this reason the low profile kept by the protagonists in their declarations, the balance demonstrated, stripped however of any feeling of resignation, is doubly appreciable. For the first time Ferrari, especially in the words of team principal Mattia Binotto, seemed aware of its current size, but also of its objectives, its heritage and its greatness.

The hope, this time founded, is that the time of "we have to understand" and of "data analysis“, hesitant and ambiguous expressions which over the last year have contributed to worsening the image of a Cavallino which seemed lost and helpless in the face of the progress of events.

That imprecise, vulnerable, slow Ferrari, like a loser Calimero overtaken by everyone left and right, and who then scratched his head because he was almost incredulous, left room for a team that - at least in the messages sent - he no longer seems to be in the grip of fear of failure.

There is no fear in saying that the car will be significantly better, probably equipped with a real engine and not with a crippled one for no longer mysterious reasons, there is no fear in declaring that the (realistic) objective is to at least get back into the fight for the podium in the Constructors' Championship, and that certain errors will no longer be tolerated because the team - being Ferrari not only in name, but also in fact - must return to have winning mentality.

In short, Ferrari promised us to be "badass", bad, hopefully also Garibaldian and reckless. In choices and performance on the track. No longer confused and stunned in strategies, no longer the victim of an adverse fate, but master of her own destiny.

The feeling, at least for now, is that Binotto also broke the balls to analyze the data and that he "understood". He reorganized the team in a pyramid fashion, entrusting each subordinate with great responsibilities. He can feel the desire to react and amaze. And we are here, waiting for Leclerc and Sainz on the podium, despite the predictions that Ferrari is behind Alpine or even AlphaTauri. Anyone who waits for failure to say “I told you so” might be disappointed.

Antonino Rendina

Follow @antorendina