Ferrari Not Aiming For F1 World Title In 2022, But Will Not Accept P3

Ferrari for the last two years has been in a transitionary phase. This year it managed P3 in the constructor's championship as its drivers, Carlos Sainz Jr and Charles Leclerc, managed P5 and P7 respectively. However, it also marked the second year in a row where it didn't win a race. It sure came close to winning in Silverstone with Leclerc who was overtaken at the fag end of the race and in Monaco it should've won had it not been for Leclerc's retirement before the race thanks to his qualifying crash after gaining pole position. 

Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto has highlighted that it will not settle for P3 in 2022. It wants to win a lot, and be very competitive against the top teams even if it doesn't win the world championship. Basically, Binotto wants Ferrari to back to the levels it was in 2017 and 2018 before it has spiraled thanks to the technical regulations for its 2019 engine which hobbled it further in 2020.  ''To repeat these performances would be unacceptable. In Abu Dhabi, it hurt us to see other teams celebrating. We want to fight for wins and poles again, as befits Ferrari. We want to win as much as possible (in 2022), but the world title is not an immediate obligation,'' Binotto said to an Italian publication. 

Ferrari's had an improved show from last year's horror show

Ferrari also has a new CEO in Benedetto Vigna who has already ousted three senior executives which includes the head of the factory that manufactures its F1 car and its chief technical officer who was involved in discussions with the FIA on what should be the next F1 engine formula for 2026. Binotto's reign as the F1 team boss started in 2019 when Ferrari slid back from being the 2nd best team in F1 after Mercedes after having seemingly the fastest car in pre-season testing. In 2020, he then presided over its worse season in 40 years, and even in 2021 where there has been a dramatic improvement, it needs to now start winning. 

Ferrari has been working on a bold new engine which it hopes will bring it back to parity with Mercedes. It has a new simulator which is said to be the most advanced in F1, which could help it resolve its 2022 car considering the new aerodynamic rules and considering the budget cap, Ferrari's poor performance in 2020, and relatively lower ranking to Mercedes and Red Bull in 2022 allows it more CFD and wind tunnel time than the top two teams in F1. It on paper has all the pieces sorted for a world championship challenge, but as Binotto said, it needs to challenge and cannot be fighting for P3 instead.