F1 2020: Angry reaction to Ferrari horror show at Belgian GP in Spa

Ferrari produced its worst performance at a Grand Prix in more than a decade and is headed for its worst season in 40 years.

Sebastian Vettel leads Charles Leclerc at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

Ferrari is heading home to Monza with its tail firmly between its legs.

Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc could only manage 13th and 14th place respectively at the Belgian Grand Prix overnight — Ferrari’s worst result on pure performance in more than a decade.

It’s left the glamour outfit embarrassed and searching for answers ahead of next week’s Italian GP, which is normally cause for celebration.

“We are disappointed and angry, as indeed are our fans and with good reason,” team boss Mattia Binotto said.

HOW THE DRIVERS REACTED

Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel need more speed. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Previously the chief rival to Mercedes, Ferrari didn’t even have the speed to go with Red Bull, Renault, AlphaTauri, Racing Point or Lando Norris’ McLaren in a disastrous day at Spa.

“It’s extremely frustrating. It’s been a very difficult weekend for us. The race was not any easier,” said Leclerc, whose race was compounded by pit stop issues.

“We’ve had issues on the two pit stops I’ve made, which made me lose quite a lot of lap time and positions. Then I tried to catch back but it’s very difficult for us to overtake, even with the DRS. We need to work and find something because this is very difficult.”

Now down to fifth in the constructors championship — which would be their worst finish as a team since 1981 if they don’t improve — Vettel said there’s confusion about where the problems lie.

“On one hand, Spa is one of the most power-sensitive tracks and we struggle this year when it comes to power so naturally we would expect to fall behind,” Vettel said.

“But the other one is that we were even behind the people we were quite a bit faster than, especially on race day, in the last couple of races, speaking of Alfa Romeo and Haas.

“So there’s something that is not exactly clear. I hope it will be Spa-specific but we have to work hard. There’s a lot of lessons this weekend and we need to make sure we stay strong, stay together and we do the best we can.”

Vettel said he was doing everything he could on track and feared for the results in Monza — and the following weekend at the maiden Tuscan Grand Prix.

“We have two important races coming for the team in the next two weeks. That’s where we focus on. We also have to be realistic. You cannot expect miracles. The package is what it is,” Vettel said.

“We are not as strong as we would like to be. So we need to stay optimistic and see the good things, even if at the moment there are not many.

“I tried a lot of stuff in the race, driving-wise, to try and drive around the car and its problems but the underlying factor is that we were just not quick enough. Then, at that stage, you cannot pull out miracles. You can work on a couple of tenths.

“It was difficult to have a decent pace this weekend. There’s lots of things that we learned. We need to make sure we stay calm and we don’t get frustrated because frustration is usually not leading you anywhere.”

“On a track that requires aerodynamic efficiency and power, we were severely lacking in both,” Binotto added. “Charles and Sebastian did their very best, both yesterday in qualifying and today in the race, but we couldn’t even get into the points.”

WHAT THE PUNDITS SAID

Charles Leclerc lost time on two pitstops. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

It’s clear the consequences of an FIA technical directive over the Ferrari engine has been brutal, but British racing driver Paul Di Resta still expects more.

“You don’t have to ignite the flames here: Ferrari will be looking at themselves in the mirror,” he said.

“They will be sitting in that office on Monday in Maranello thinking ‘what can we do in the short term, what can we do in the long term, and where does the midterm leave us?’.

“They are very much stuck with what they have got going into next year. You can’t do much with the engine, you can’t do much with the chassis because the regulations have been frozen going into the next generation of Formula 1 in 2022.

“They know what that engine is capable of doing now, they’ll be pushing it to the very limit like every engine manufacturer does, but it’s a complete thing about looking at how they do it.”

“The problem is there is no real compensation for power,” added Sky Sports’ Karun Chandhok. “If you are struggling fundamentally with power you can try whatever you want with the set-up of the car, with downforce, with this, with that, you’re not going to make up for that.”