Ferrari staff think their jobs are ‘hanging by a thread’ as ‘climate of fear’ emerges at Maranello

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Ferrari’s F1 team appears to be trapped in a cycle. This will be the 17th straight season in which they have failed to win either championship.

In that period, they have come agonisingly close on several occasions. Most notably, Fernando Alonso lost out to Sebastian Vettel in the 2010 and 2012 title deciders, while the Scuderia finished just 14 points behind McLaren in last year’s constructors’ battle.

But every time Ferrari get close, they fall back again. Alonso was helpless against the Vettel/Red Bull juggernaut in 2011 and 2013, while the German himself only presented a fleeting challenge to Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes during his stint with the Prancing Horse.

During the 2020s, Ferrari haven’t finished in the top two in consecutive seasons. This year, they could fall to fourth place, matching their second-worst showing of the 2020s.

Ferrari staff are scared to take ‘risks’ amid F1 team ‘crisis’

A report from UOL journalist Julianne Cerasoli details the ‘climate of perpetual crisis’ at Ferrari’s factory. When ‘things aren’t going well’ on track, ‘fear’ takes hold.

Staff start to worry that their jobs are ‘hanging by a thread’. And in this environment, they don’t want to take the kind of ‘risks’ that are needed to reach the top.

• READ MORE: Mattia Binotto sends message to suffering Ferrari F1 fans after he was forced out of the team

Speaking at the previous race in Singapore, Jenson Button suggested that everyone at Ferrari is afraid, and it seems his assessment may have been accurate.

This pressure accompanies all echelons of the team. Indeed, Fred Vasseur’s future is in doubt again even though he only signed a new contract in June.

Former Ferrari engineer says they keep on making the same error

Christian Horner has been linked with Ferrari as a potential replacement for Vasseur, though he isn’t thought to be interested in becoming a team principal again.

But even Horner knows Ferrari’s ‘biggest problem’ is that they are a ‘national team’ with the weight of Italy on their shoulders. They don’t make decisions as ‘quickly’ because of excessive bureaucracy.

In a recent podcast appearance, former engineer Rob Smedley says Ferrari are always desperate for short-term gains. By contrast, McLaren became F1’s dominant team by patiently implementing a ‘two-year plan’.

This might explain the aforementioned cycle. Ferrari panic and go all in when they sense an opportunity, leading to some rash decisions.

Many team leaders have tried and failed to change the culture at the Italian marquee.