Ferrari's cool and calculating team boss Mattia Binotto has laid down the gauntlet and proclaimed that fighting for the 2022 world championship isn't a choice but a must for the legendary Italian team. Ferrari for the last two years hasn't been in the running for the world championship ever since it was hobbled by FIA technical directives at the end of the 2019 season which curtailed its engine power massively. For 2021, Ferrari has developed a new engine which has improved things alongside redesigned aerodynamics, however, its engine still lags behind Mercedes and Honda. It has put up a good show despite limited development opportunities thanks to the pandemic and now moved up to being consistently the third fastest car on the grid. Its engine could improve further this year thanks to homologated parts not being deployed, however, the broader ambition to revive the Scuderia which hasn't won a constructor's title since 2008 when it had Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa as its drivers.
It is no secret. Fighting for the title next year is a must," said the Ferrari team boss whose job could be on the line if the team fails to compete favourably. "If we wouldn't make it, we would have done everything wrong," the Swiss Italian added.
But Binotto remains quietly confident of the fact that Ferrari can return to its winning ways on the basis of what he has seen this year. Ferrari has been impressive having gained 0.7 seconds and the team spirit between Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr working out well. Ferrari also surprised the grid with two pole positions and twice its drivers have come P2 over the course of the season. With more upgrades coming to its 2021 car it could get closer to Red Bull and Mercedes.
The two Ferrari drivers have worked well as a team and are considered the strongest driving pair
"We are the team that scored the most points compared to last year, the team that improved the most in general. That shows that we are going in the right direction and that we are working well together," Binotto added.
Ferrari has also a new driving simulator which is state of the art and it could give the team an advantage next season when there are sweeping changes to the technical regulations, the broadest in 40 years. It also has more CFD development and wind tunnel time thanks to its shockingly poor 2020 where it came P6 in the constructor's championship.
Considering Ferrari's brand is closely linked with its success in F1 and the fact it will soon have a new CEO, Binotto's job could be in danger if Ferrari doesn't win the world title in 2022.
