FERRARI THE UPGRADES HAVE NO EFFECT, IT’S BEEN A VERY DISAPPOINTING

Already qualified for a disappointing eleventh place, Ferrari will start even further on the starting grid for the Grand Prix of Styria tomorrow.

Mattia Binotto says Ferrari’s fast-tracked upgrades have not “shown their worth” and the Formula 1 team’s situation is “just not good enough”, as a three-place grid penalty for Charles Leclerc compounded its misery at the Styrian Grand Prix.

Ferrari trialled a new front wing and floor at the second Red Bull Ring event having worked to accelerate an aerodynamic development package it initially expected to have next week in Hungary.

After a quietly encouraging Friday, despite lacking ultimate performance, Ferrari toiled in the wet conditions of qualifying with Sebastian Vettel only 10th and Leclerc getting knocked out in Q2 – the second time in two races a Ferrari has been eliminated at that stage.

Binotto called it a “really disappointing day” and said Ferrari must face up to the fact that “the stopwatch doesn’t ever lie” after it was outqualified by cars from Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren, Renault and AlphaTauri.

Mattia Binotto’s forthright evaluation of Ferrari’s upgrades is as honest as we’ve come to expect from a man who has given the team a more human exterior in his time as team principal – but all that does is tell us just how bad this situation is.

The massive effort at Maranello to produce upgrades quickly and effectively has come to nothing, which will be a blow to those putting in intense hours back at the factory and a huge concern to Binotto and his technical staff.

Just how has it gone this badly wrong? And where has the cautious optimism from Friday disappeared to?

It’s not that Ferrari was stunningly quick one day and slow the next but as we analysed, there did seem legitimate grounds for a breakthrough of sorts. Now that feels like a terrible misread of the situation.

Leclerc had hoped that a very positive change in the dying minutes of FP2 had unlocked a bit more from the car, while Vettel was little short of delighted to have a “completely different” machine to work with compared to last Sunday.

But when it counted, when the stopwatch was running, Ferrari’s been through an embarrassing and humbling experience once again.

Binotto’s right to say this is not good enough for Ferrari. But just because that’s obvious doesn’t mean it isn’t also damning.

F1 : THIRD AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX ? WHAT’S HAPPENED

MORE NEWS : A MASTERFUL HAMILTON DANCES IN THE RAIN

RICCIARDO EXPECTS A NICE RACE

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH ALL THE F1 NEWS VIA Facebook AND Twitter

FERRARI THE UPGRADES HAVE NO EFFECT FERRARI THE UPGRADES HAVE NO EFFECT