Ruthless: The press settles scores with Ferrari

“We now have to see what we could have done better, recharge our batteries during the break and be ready to fight in the second half of the season,” said the Monegasque in Hungary. The 24-year-old didn't have much more than perseverance slogans after his gap in the World Cup standings behind world champion Max Verstappen grew to 80 points on Sunday.

Although Ferrari currently has the best car, Verstappen also won in Hungary. Eight successes from 13 World Cup races brought the Red Bull star very close to defending his title early on. “ Red disaster. Ferrari's next own goal. The Red Demise” , wrote the Italian sports daily Journal of Sport and made a tough list of the racing team's failings.

Team boss Mattia Binotto is at the center of criticism. © APA/afp / ERIC GAILLARD

At the center of the criticism: Mattia Binotto. The team boss is at least counted after Leclerc in sixth place and fourth-placed Carlos Sainz weren't even enough for the podium. A poor strategy including the wrong choice of tires by World Cup challenger Leclerc ensured a disastrous result and perhaps the end of all World Cup hopes. “Overall, everything didn’t work as expected,” said Binotto, but didn’t want to hear anything about wrong tactics. The car didn't work as expected. That will be analyzed, he said.

“I have no explanation,” Binotto said. There will be no personnel consequences in the strategy team, and he himself did not seem to fear for his job during a media round. However, Ferrari presents a disastrous image to the outside world. “The Ferrari disaster in the pits is complete: enough is enough! There’s no point in just having the best car.” , judged Tuttosport . “The car was there, the pilot was there. But where was the team?” “The car was there, the pilot was there. But where was the team?” Italian sports newspaper Tuttosport Memories of the Vettel era This is all very reminiscent of 2018, when the Reds also had the best prospects of a world title with Sebastian Vettel. Back then, they blocked their own coronation and had to leave the triumph to Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes. After that season, the old team boss Maurizio Arrivabene was replaced by Binotto. But fundamental things don't seem to have changed. While Red Bull maneuvered Verstappen to victory with a tactical masterstroke from tenth on the grid, the command post at Ferrari decided to let Leclerc put on tough tires when everything was at stake.

The top driver didn't want that himself, but had to submit and no longer had a chance of winning because the tires on his car weren't working. “We will of course talk about it, but we will do it within the team,” said Leclerc, avoiding open criticism. A week ago he was in the lead at the French Grand Prix and was eliminated after his own driving error. Now the less confident strategy department prevented him from achieving another top result. Leclerc can recover from the disaster during the four-week summer break until the Belgian Grand Prix at the end of August. “We took a lot of steps backwards, we got worse and worse.” Carlos Sainz about the Ferrari weekend “I think as a leader he will see every race as an opportunity to win again,” Binotto said. The boss isn’t writing off the title yet: “There’s still a lot of potential. We will come back even stronger." Leclerc's teammate Sainz analyzed the Budapest fiasco harshly: "We took a lot of steps back, we got worse and worse." The good training on Friday was followed by a mixed qualifying and a weak Grand Prix: "It's a shame that we go into the break with a bad result.” Goodbye World Cup opportunity? With nine races still to go, Leclerc can hardly become world champion on his own. Even if Verstappen no longer wins and always comes second, the 24-year-old can no longer be overtaken. Verstappen was asked whether Ferrari gave him the big championship lead. “That's difficult to answer because no one makes mistakes like that on purpose. We’ve already dropped a few points and at the end of the day you always have to deliver.”

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Ruthless: The press settles scores with Ferrari

Charles Leclerc really didn't look like someone who was looking forward to his vacation. Disillusioned and with a blank look, the Ferrari star trudged through the Formula 1 paddock in Budapest after what was perhaps the decisive debacle of his Scuderia.

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