Ferrari Given A Champion’s Support Amid Major Public Embarrassment

Scuderia Ferrari has not had a very favorable season in 2022. With two promising wins at the beginning of the season, the near losses frustrated fans in the later races. Touching on this scenario, Mika Hakkinen, the former McLaren driver, writes in his Unibet column about Ferrari’s challenges.

The two-time world championship winner comments on the unique pressures faced by Ferrari.

Hakkinen talks of Ferrari’s unique challenge

‘The Flying Finn’ Hakkinen speaks of Ferrari’s performance in the current season, “I think this season has been difficult because they started with a quick car, race wins and a lot of confidence, but Red Bull have operated so efficiently, making so few mistakes and improving the car.”

“As a driver you really want to have a quick race car, not a one-lap car,” he said. He then went on the talk about Ferrari’s own challenges that are unique to them alone.

“Ferrari has always had a lot of pressure,” Hakkinen wrote in his column for Unibet. “And it is something unique to them . . . but Ferrari has always had this additional pressure of being a kind of national team.”

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It is true that Ferrari has always been the darling of the Tifosi. This puts a lot of extra pressure on them to carry their name’s worth. And it also makes the defeat under a safety car at the Italian Grand Prix all the more painstaking.

Ferrari chairman’s comments on team performance

Towards the end, Mika Hakkinen added, “It’s interesting to see the comments of the Ferrari Chairman, especially in public, as that adds more pressure on the team.”

Prior to the Italian Grand Prix, John Elkann spoke out regarding the team’s performance, “We have seen that there are still too many mistakes when it comes to reliability, driving and strategy.”

“We must continue to make progress and that goes for the mechanics, the engineers, the drivers and obviously, the entire management team, including the Team Principal,” added the Ferrari chairman, putting the point across directly to Mattia Binotto.

While Elkann also affirmed his faith in the team principal’s efforts, Mattia Binotto is certainly under eagle scrutiny. In addition to Ferrari fans’ displeasure at Binotto’s management, it appears the team principal is facing mounting pressure.

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Hopefully, Ferrari can redeem itself sooner than later. At the moment, there is a 116-point gap between Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen this season. It is highly likely that Ferrari will have to look for a trophy next year.