What Happened to Scuderia Ferrari in 2020

It’s no secret that the start of Ferrari’s 2020 F1 season has been disastrous. The team is seriously lacking pace and can barely match Racing Point—let alone Mercedes or Red Bull. Ferrari has traditionally been the main challenger or the No. 2 team during the Mercedes-dominated hybrid era.

However, the lingering question is: why hasn’t Ferrari been able to consistently challenge the likes of Mercedes and Red Bull in recent years? Despite having multiple world champions like Fernando Alonso, Kimi Räikkönen, and Sebastian Vettel in their lineup, the team has failed to return to its former glory.

Ferrari’s main issues seem to stem from its tendency to favor one driver over the other and its poor internal communication. They continue to make mistakes that shouldn't happen at this level—rookie-level errors. A prime example is Canada 2019, where Ferrari allegedly failed to inform Charles Leclerc about his teammate's five-second penalty. And let’s not even start on their questionable tyre strategies.

In contrast, Mercedes operates like a well-oiled machine, with consistent communication and coordination between the drivers and the team.

As for 2020, we’re still in the early stages of the season, which gives Ferrari a chance to limit the damage. Not only have their upgrades fallen short of expectations, but many fans now consider Ferrari a midfield team. The Styrian Grand Prix was especially painful, with both Ferraris retiring after Leclerc’s reckless move led to a collision with his teammate. This only worsened an already difficult situation.

Both drivers need to be more aware of each other and work as a unified team to salvage whatever points are still available. The real issue at Ferrari isn’t the drivers—it’s the car’s lack of performance and pace. When two world-class drivers describe the car as “undriveable,” you know things are bad.

When things go wrong in Maranello, chaos tends to follow. It often feels like the team doesn’t know how to handle a crisis. Ferrari needs to shift focus toward understanding and improving the car’s performance.

Does Ferrari Need New Leadership?

Ferrari has a long history of replacing its team principals, so it was no surprise when Corriere della Sera reported that Ferrari GT boss Antonello Coletta had emerged as a potential successor to current team principal Mattia Binotto. While Binotto’s first year delivered nine pole positions, three race wins, and a second-place finish behind Mercedes, 2020 has taken a sharp turn for the worse.

What Ferrari needs is strong, accountable leadership—someone willing to take responsibility in tough times and turn challenges into opportunities. Most importantly, they need a leader who supports both drivers equally.