Ferrari are so far off the F1 pace they could be mistaken for amateurs – their mistakes are laughable
pIn December they a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/20739977/ferrari-mattia-binotto-fred-vasseur-sauber-andreas-seidl-mclaren/replaced long-serving employee Mattia Binotto/a as team principal with Fred Vasseur./p
figure id=attachment_23682139 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 970pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/df30d1c5-9610-4a00-8fca-1e3ff36e1518.jpg?strip=allamp;w=960 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23682139 width=960 height=643 /figcaption class=wp-caption-textFerrari have made some laughable mistakes during the Formula One season/figcaptionfigcreditRex/figcredit/figure
pBut it is clear that any hopes of the Frenchman bringing an immediate upturn in results have been firmly extinguished./p
pIn fact, it is difficult to see what improvements #8211; if any at all #8211; have been made since Vasseur was installed as the boss of a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/topic/f1/F1/a#8216;s most famous team./p
pReliability is still a problem. Aerodynamically the car is unpredictable. Operationally, the mistakes are laughable and consequently the team#8217;s drivers are shot of confidence./p
pPut simply, a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/topic/ferrari/Ferrari/a have been made to look so embarrassingly off the pace by Red Bull Racing, they could be mistaken for amateurs./p
pLook at the numbers. They are currently 339 points behind a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/topic/red-bull-racing/Red Bull/a in the championship and find themselves in fourth place in the constructors#8217; table./p
pAfter last year#8217;s Italian GP they were 139 points shy to Red Bull but still held a credible second-place in the standings./p
pOf course, you could easily accuse any team in F1 of not doing well enough at the moment as Red Bull dominates, but this is Ferrari./p
pVasseur is not the problem, the operational mistakes have been plain to see since Ferrari last won a constructors#8217; championship title in 2008./p
pThe issue I have is that I am not too sure he is the solution for Ferrari either./p
pFerrari say they have learned from their mistakes in 2023 and will put them right next season, only we have heard all this before./p
pBut this time the board of the great Italian car manufacturer must be running out of patience with F1, particularly when they saw their investment at Le Mans pay off handsomely with a win in the 24 Hour race./p
pTheir performance in the Dutch GP however, was again toe-curlingly bad, with pitstops that would not look out of place in a Benny Hill sketch./p
p class=has-text-align-centerstronga href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/betting/20803800/the-best-online-casinos-in-the-uk/CASINO SPECIAL #8211; BEST ONLINE CASINOS FOR 2023/a/strong/p
figure id=attachment_23682167 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 662pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/mercedes-lewis-hamilton-arrives-netherlands-840559413.jpg?strip=allamp;w=652 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23682167 width=652 height=960 /figcaption class=wp-caption-text/figcaptionfigcreditPA/figcredit/figureContract talks between Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes appear to be at a stalemate[/caption]
pa href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/who/carlos-sainz/Carlos Sainz/a said they were the #8220;sixth-fastest car#8221; during the race, adding: #8220;I know at some point it looked that we could even fight for a podium, but the reality is that when the race was settled when you look at our pace we were just nowhere.#8221;/p
pF1#8217;s popularity across the world is booming but so far, Ferrari are just making up the numbers #8211; and for those at Maranello, that is simply not good enough./p
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pI ASKED a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/who/lewis-hamilton/Lewis Hamilton/a about his Mercedes contract in Zandvoort [you may remember his failure to sign a new deal was the subject of last week#8217;s column]. /p
pI asked if there was an update, or any news he could share with us, to which he replied #8220;Nope#8221;. It seems as though they really are at a stalemate and one wonders what impact this is having within the team./p
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figure id=attachment_23682149 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 970pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/24-alfa-romeo-f1-c43-840655508.jpg?strip=allamp;w=960 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23682149 width=960 height=540 /figcaption class=wp-caption-text/figcaptionfigcreditGetty/figcredit/figureZhou Guanyu#8217;s crash proves the current generation of F1 cars is not suitable for rain[/caption]
pI HAVE a very serious concern that this current generation of F1 cars is not suitable whenever it rains./p
pThe Dutch GP was another case in point as the race stewards took another conservative approach when it was wet./p
pThe red flag when Zhou Guanyu crashed at Turn One was understandable as they needed to make repairs to the barriers and recover his car, however, it was some of their other decision-making which makes me fear wherever we have a wet race./p
pThe issue is that visibility is now the main problem for drivers, rather than a lack of grip, caused in part by the aerodynamic properties of these cars./p
pThey are designed to use the floors of the cars, sucking them closer to the ground and subsequently dispelling the air #8211; and in the case of rain standing water #8211; upwards./p
pAdd in the water already being sent upwards by the tyres and you have a mushroom effect of spray, which is the problem./p
pF1 are now considering ways to introduce mugrads over the wheels to reduce the spray thrown up, with tests planned for later in the year./p
pI hope it cures the problem because we are being denied the chance to witness the excitement caused by a wet race./p
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figure id=attachment_23682178 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 970pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/jennie-gow-bbc-sports-f1-840090118.jpg?strip=allamp;w=960 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23682178 width=960 height=640 /figcaption class=wp-caption-text/figcaptionfigcreditGetty/figcredit/figureBBC 1#8217;s Jennie Gow is back working in the paddock after overcoming a stroke[/caption]
pIT was fantastic to see my friend and colleague Jennie Gow working back in the paddock during an F1 race weekend. /p
pGow, who presents the BBC#8217;s F1 coverage as well as appearing in Drive to Survive, suffered a stroke in December. /p
pShe has spent the last eight months learning to speak again. She#8217;s worked so hard and it is wonderful to see her incredible progress./p
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pFABIO QUARTARARO has delivered his damning verdict on Yamaha#8217;s progress in MotoGP saying his current bike is #8220;practically the same#8221; as the bike Jorge Lorenzo raced to the title in 2015. /p
pYamaha is joint-last in the manufacturers#8217; championship after another terrible season. /p
pUnhappy Quartararo, has made it clear he is weighing up his future in the Japanese team as it fails to make progress./p