FERRARI CEO: NO EXCUSES OR MAGIC FIX, WE’RE IN A HOLE

Ferrari’s top brass gathered at the company’s Mugello circuit on Sunday to witness the Italian outfit’s 1,000th Grand Prix, a disrupted event that Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel ended in the points but way off the pace set by the leaders.

Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri says his Formula 1 team finds itself stuck “in a hole” and admits it will be hard to turn things around before 2022 as there is “no magic bullet”.

The Italian outfit is enduring a woeful 2020 season and currently occupies sixth place in the constructors’ championship, nearly 20 points behind Renault and just 13 clear of AlphaTauri.

Ferrari’s fortunes improved ever so slightly at its 1000th GP at Mugello, as Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel recorded a rare double points haul for the team – albeit in eighth and 10th.

It followed two difficult weekends at Spa-Francorchamps and Monza where Ferrari failed to score a single point.

“Listen, we’re in a hole now, and we know we’re in a hole,” Camilleri said when reflecting upon Ferrari’s season so far at the Tuscan Grand Prix.

“It’s a confluence of factors, but anything I say will come across as excuses. And we’re not into excuses.

“So what matters is to focus on the issues we have and to work hard with determination to get back to what we consider to be our rightful place.”

With limited opportunities to make development progress before a regulation overhaul in 2022 amid a chassis and engine freeze, Camilleri conceded it will be “tough” for Ferrari to improve its competitiveness drastically in the short-term.

“I mean realistically it’s going to be tough,” he said.

“In Formula 1 we’re always fighting time, both on the track and in development, and there’s no magic bullet.

“So we’ll take time. I’m hoping with a bit more flexibility in the regs next year we can at least step it up from where we are.

“Mercedes… Hats off to them, they’ve done an incredible job and we’ll see in 2022 with the new regs, whether it creates a reset. That’s our hope.”

But Camilleri was positive about Ferrari’s prospects for the future, adding: “I think Ferrari and Formula 1 are sort of joined at the hip.

“How to imagine Formula 1 without Ferrari? Or the other way around?

“We’ve been there forever and we’re the only team. Others come and go. And yes, history creates pressure too. So we’re looking forward to the next thousand.”

FERRARI CEO NO EXCUSES OR MAGIC FIX FERRARI CEO NO EXCUSES OR MAGIC FIX

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