Ferrari won’t be competitive in F1 until 2022, says chairman

Ferrari chairman John Elkann concedes his team is unlikely to be in a position to win in Formula 1 before a regulation overhaul in 2022.

Major changes to the technical regulations aimed at closing up the field were originally intended to be introduced for 2021 but have been delayed until 2022 amid a number of cost-cutting measures enforced by F1 as a direct consequence of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ferrari has endured a woeful start to 2020 after taking the wrong direction with its car design concept this season, and with development scope limited for the next year with teams forced to carry over their cars into 2021, the Italian outfit is faced with the likelihood of its competitive struggles continuing next year.

Speaking in a rare interview with Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport, Elkann called for patience from fans of the Scuderia, while he also expressed “total trust” in team principal Mattia Binotto.

"This year we are not competitive because of car design errors," Elkann said.

"We have had a series of structural weaknesses that have existed for some time in the aerodynamics and dynamics of the vehicle. We have also lost in engine power.

"The reality is that our car is not competitive. You saw it on the track and you will see it again.

“We are laying the foundations for being competitive and returning to winning when the rules change in 2022. I am convinced of it,” he added.

"Binotto has the characteristics and skills to start a new winning cycle.”

"A long path awaits us. When Todt started that historic cycle [of five consecutive titles] in 2000, we came from a fast that lasted for more than 20 years, from 1979.

"It took time, from when he arrived in 1993 to when he brought Ferrari back to victory. The important thing, then, is to work on and off the track, bringing cohesion and stability, building the Ferrari we want step by step.”

Ferrari currently sits fifth in the constructors’ championship after the opening three races and has managed a best result of second place, achieved by Charles Leclerc during a crazy season-opening Austrian Grand Prix.

Elkann also spoke of Ferrari’s decision to part ways with four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel and replace him with current McLaren driver Carlos Sainz for 2021.

"In the past 10 years we have had champions such as (Fernando) Alonso and Vettel, who have been world champions," Elkann explained.

"But it is undoubtedly more difficult to rebuild a cycle and ask patience to those who have already won compared to those who have the future ahead of them.

"We are laying the foundations for building something important and lasting, and the contract we signed with Charles proves it: five years, never so long in Ferrari's history.

"Leclerc and Sainz will make Maranello their home, will be close to our engineers. The new machine will be born with them."