Numerous mistakes by Ferrari in 2022 show it was time for Binotto exit

Ferrari officially announced on Tuesday that team boss Binotto will leave the team at the end of the year. Strong rumours about the team boss's departure had been circulating for some time. After all the strategic blunders and reliability problems, the top management was reportedly no longer satisfied with Binotto.

At the start of the 2022 season, there was still a solid title fight between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, but after Ferrari's countless mistakes, the Dutchman, along with Red Bull Racing, dominantly won the two world titles. If Ferrari wants any chance of winning the title in 2023, a lot of things will have to change within Ferrari's organisation, but the Italians seem to be serious about that now. Where did it all go wrong this season?

Poor Ferrari engine reliability

The Ferrari engine proved to be very strong this season. The team dominated qualifying on Saturday at the beginning of the season, but the powerful power unit ultimately proved to be not too reliable. In Spain, things went wrong for the first time when Leclerc crashed out from the leading position. There appeared to be a malfunction in his turbocharger and MGU-H. Verstappen took advantage of his title rival's DNF and took home 25 points.

Two races later, the nightmare got worse for Ferrari with a double DNF in Baku. Carlos Sainz had to park his car by the side after eight laps due to a hydraulic problem, while Leclerc's car went up in smoke on lap 21. This left the Monegasque unable to battle with Verstappen for victory. Leclerc had to start the next Grand Prix in Canada at the back of the grid because of the problems in Baku, so he failed to win there too.

In Austria, reliability went wrong for the last time. Sainz crashed out in the closing stages of the race after his car burst into flames. After all the reliability problems, Ferrari opted to reduce the engine's power output, preventing the team from benefiting from that advantage as well. It did ensure that no more dropouts followed in the closing stages of the season.

Many grid penalties

The lack of drop-outs may also have been partly due to the many grid penalties in the second half of the season. Before the summer break, both drivers only had to start one race further back (Canada for Leclerc and France for Sainz), but in the closing stages of the season many parts had to be replaced. It started with a grid penalty for Leclerc in Belgium after replacing several parts. Also in Austin, the driver had to take a penalty of 10 spots after installing a new engine.

Sainz also had to start at the back twice in the second half of the season. In Italy, Ferrari replaced several parts of the Spaniard's car. At Interlagos for the Brazilian Grand Prix, Sainz collected five spots grid penalty after replacing the ICE. Although grid penalties are generally handed out more often in the second half of the season (teams are now getting closer to the limit of the maximum number of parts), Ferrari did not make it very easy for its drivers to finish on the podium. As a result, victory was no longer forthcoming in the second half of the season.

Strategy not Ferrari's strong point

Not only reliability was a big problem for Ferrari. The team was perhaps even worse off when it came to strategic choices. Indeed, Ferrari chose the wrong tyres numerous times or the team called the drivers in too late for a pit stop.

Monaco was the first big blunder. Major chaos ensued in Ferrari's garage, as just a few laps after his first pit stop, Leclerc was called in again. However, a moment later his engineer panickedly shouted over the board radio that he should stay outside after all. Before that, it was already too late, forcing Leclerc to wait for his teammate, who was also in the pit lane at the time. As a result, the Monegasque fell back to fourth place and failed to convert his pole position into a victory at his home circuit.

At Silverstone, Leclerc again fell victim to Ferrari's late choices, while Sainz ran away with victory. The team did not react to a late pit stop in the race and chose not to call in Leclerc, who was leading. The drivers behind the Monegasque all opted for new tyres though, so it was only a matter of time before the Ferrari driver was overtaken left and right. It led to another place next to the podium.

The Hungarian Grand Prix was perhaps Ferrari's low point in 2022. With Verstappen's grid penalty, the team had a great chance of victory, but the wrong tyres were chosen. While all other teams realised that hard tyres were not an option in the cool conditions, it seemed like a good idea for Ferrari to put the drivers on the hardest compound. However, there was absolutely no grip on the hard tyres, so Leclerc had to come in for a third pit stop.

Slow in the pit lane

So in terms of strategic choices, Leclerc and Sainz could not always trust the team, but Ferrari's pit stops were also questionable at times. It sometimes happens to every team that the pit stop is a lot slower than planned, but with Ferrari's top team it happened a bit too often. At the Dutch Grand Prix, for instance, Sainz dove into the pit lane while the team only had three tyres ready. The Spaniard had to wait more than 12 seconds for his tyres.

In the closing stages of the season, qualifying in Brazil did not go smoothly either. Leclerc was the only driver in the top ten to be sent out on intermediates in Q3, while the track was dry enough for slicks. The result was only a P10 for Saturday's sprint race. In Belgium, the team also made a mistake by sending Leclerc out on new softs at the start of Q3, when those tyres were actually meant for the very last run. As a result, Leclerc only drove one lap.

Driver errors Leclerc and Sainz

While Leclerc and teammate Sainz have borne the brunt of Ferrari's mistakes countless times, the two drivers have also made their own mistakes this season. Sainz dropped out of races a total of six times in 2022, only two of which were due to the poor reliability of the Ferrari engine. In Australia and Japan, Sainz finished in the wall due to his own mistake. The Spaniard seemed to be feeling the pressure of the title race quite a lot at the beginning of the season. At the US Grand Prix, Sainz was knocked out by George Russell on the opening lap of the race, something the Ferrari driver himself could do nothing about. At Imola, he fell victim to an incident with Daniel Ricciardo.

Leclerc crashed out three times in 2022, with one race being the Monegasque's own big mistake. Those thinking of the French Grand Prix will surely remember Leclerc's painful screams when he ended up in the wall from the leading position due to a mistake of his own. Title rival Verstappen thus ran off with an easy win. That race was ultimately the beginning of Verstappen's dominant winning streak, and perhaps the real end for Leclerc. Also earlier in the season in Imola, Leclerc made a costly mistake when he ended up in the wall. The Monegasque did manage to finish the race after his mistake, but he only finished sixth in a race where the podium was a certainty.

Clearly, change is needed within Ferrari's team if it wants to fight for the title last year. Binotto's departure seems to be a first step, but much more will need to change if the Italians are to compete against Red Bull's successful organisation. The strategic team will also have to do things differently in the new season. If Leclerc and Sainz feel the confidence of a faultless Ferrari, then perhaps the drivers will make fewer mistakes themselves.