Former Formula 1 driver Jolyon Palmer has been keeping a close eye on Ferrari’s fortunes in the past few races.
Ferrari hoped that a series of updates delivered since the Austrian Grand Prix would improve their fortunes after a stuttering start.
Concerns over how low they could run their cars after Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix for excessive plank wear have hampered their season.
However, despite Charles Leclerc securing five podiums this season, a new floor in Austria and a new rear suspension in Belgium haven’t suddenly made Fred Vasseur’s team any more competitive.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix was another difficult event for the Scuderia, with Hamilton failing to advance to the top 10 shootout in qualifying, and Leclerc finding the wall in Q3.
RANKDRIVERTEAMPOINTS1Max VerstappenRed Bull252George RussellMercedes183Carlos SainzWilliams154Kimi AntonelliMercedes125Liam LawsonRacing Bulls106Yuki TsunodaRed Bull87Lando NorrisMcLaren68Lewis HamiltonFerrari49Charles LeclercFerrari210Isack HadjarRacing Bulls12025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix results
A failed position swap between Leclerc and Hamilton summed up not only the weekend, but the season in general, as Ferrari slipped below Mercedes in the constructors’ championship.
Jolyon Palmer has been assessing Ferrari’s recent races and has finally admitted that he’s been too positive about the team.
Not only that, but he’s spotted a worrying trend that the drivers will need to take responsibility for.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory
Photo by Bryn Lennon – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty ImagesJolyon Palmer going ‘a bit smaller’ on Ferrari after recent praise backfired
Palmer was speaking about Ferrari on the F1 Nation Podcast, and ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, he said: “For a few weeks now, I’ve been going big on Ferrari.
“And now I’m going to go a bit smaller on Ferrari, after a couple of false dawns.
“But I still think they have the better car than Mercedes. But their execution is not there.
“Monza was roughly OK. They probably finished where they roughly deserved, just outside of the podium.
“But Baku, you’ve got Hamilton on a used soft tyre, trying to get around in Q2 when he goes out. Then Leclerc hits the barriers in Q3, and they end up tenth and twelfth on the grid. I mean, that’s so far away from what that car should have been capable of.
“That seems to be a little bit the story of Ferrari’s season, I think. You look at someone like Max. The McLarens generally, even though we talk about little mistakes here or there, and Baku was not a good example, but they are putting the times on the board.
“George Russell is putting times on the board. Kimi was very good in Baku as well. And yet Ferrari is not necessarily just the team, but sometimes the drivers are making these mistakes.
Friday 3rd October to Sunday 5th October
Friday 3rd October 09:30 1st Practice Friday 3rd October 13:00 2nd Practice Saturday 4th October 09:30 3rd Practice Saturday 4th October 13:00 1st Qualifying Saturday 4th October 13:25 2nd Qualifying Saturday 4th October 13:48 3rd Qualifying Sunday 5th October 12:00 Race
“And so again, before Singapore, I think they should beat Mercedes. But I went back and looked at the results from last year, and I looked at qualifying, and Ferrari were tenth and ninth on the grid.
“Carlos Sainz had a crash, and Charles Leclerc didn’t get a lap time in for going over track limits at turn two.
“It just feels like the most Ferrari thing possible on a circuit where they should be quick. The amount of times they have these catastrophic, no points out of a race weekend, that you’ve got to be at least getting a top five.
“So, logic would say they’re going to be good again, low speed, better than Mercedes, but they’ve got to put it on the board.”
READ MORE: Who is Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur? Everything you need to know
Guenther Steiner pinpoints Lewis Hamilton’s ‘biggest problem’ at Ferrari
Leclerc is currently 44 points ahead of Hamilton during their first season as teammates, with the adaptation period taking longer than expected for the seven-time world champion.
Guenther Steiner has warned Hamilton what his ‘biggest problem’ is right now, and there are question marks about whether Ferrari are capable of fixing these issues ahead of next season.
Position Constructors’ Standings PointsPts 1 623 2 290 3 286 4 272 5 101 6 72 7 62 8 55 9 44 10 20
Red Bull are experts in maximising their processes outside of what happens on track, such as with their strategy calls and pit stops.
McLaren have had some recent issues in this department, but it feels like Ferrari are always on the back foot.
Ralf Schumacher criticised Ferrari for ignoring Hamilton’s calls to change tyres in qualifying in Baku.
The F1 grid is so close right now that any errors like this are almost always punished, and Ferrari need to get a handle on what’s going wrong if they want to end their winless streak.