Todt: Ferrari Losing Ground
The gap between Ferrari and the two teams in front of the defending Formula One Champions has widened rather than narrowed in recent races, the Italian team's boss Jean Todt said on Sunday
"It's true that we've been moving backwards in the last few races," Todt said in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper ahead of next weekend's German Grand Prix at Hockenheim. "We're simply too slow."
Ferrari trail Renault and McLaren in the constructors standings while seven-times World Champion Michael Schumacher is third in the driver's Championship, far behind Renault's Fernando Alonso and McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen.
"Our opponents are able to drive their fastest laps at the end of the race while we're struggling after about 20 laps," Todt said. "That is a development backwards."
Todt said that Ferrari's "lacking grip" was the main problem, but that have been unable to find a solution for that.
"It's very difficult for us to clearly evaluate where it lies. It lies not only with the aerodynamics."
Todt said it was neverthless possible that Ferrari could make a "jump forward" at Hockenheim.
He also rejected speculation that BAR driver Jenson Button would move to Ferrari next season.
"There is zero percent truth to that," Todt said.
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Ferrari announces HP as new F1 team title sponsor
Ferrari "made too many mistakes" for podium fight at F1 Chinese GP
What's been going wrong for Leclerc in F1's tiny margins qualifying game
The plot twist that gave Arrow McLaren’s Ward his first IndyCar win as team principal
Formula E’s new Gen3 Evo car breaks cover
The weekly reality check that has kept MotoGP hype off of Acosta so far in 2024
F2 veteran Ghiotto to make IndyCar debut with Dale Coyne Racing at Barber
The F1 hero to zero dividing line that has never been so thin
How Stroll and Magnussen revealed the scale of F1’s racing and rules problems
Did F1's new sprint format work?
Chinese Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2024
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments