David Coulthard backs Ferrari world title in 2023 if they can solve ‘blatantly obvious’ issues
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Charles Leclerc
Ferrari are the most successful, and most popular Formula 1 team of all time. Quite comfortably so. However, since 2008, they’ve been unable to notch up another championship win, or even get particularly close. They took a backseat as Red Bull and then Mercedes took turns dominating the sport. The pressure to deliver at Maranello is sky-high, as evidenced by Mattia Binotto’s departure. Everything is bigger at Ferrari – good or bad.
Their best chances in the hybrid era were 2017-18, both of which they squandered. Then came the engine controversy in 2019, and so 2020 and 2021 were years of recovery. In 2022, they seemed to have a genuine chance – but they squandered that too. At the start of the season, their car was level on performance with Red Bull, but they made too many errors. After the summer break, they never particularly had another shot.
Asked for a reason why Ferrari failed last season by Mirror Sport, David Coulthard said: “There might be an element of just not being match fit, having not operated at that level [for a while]. Ferrari are the most famous name in Formula 1, and have been the longest-running members so there might be an element of mass fatigue as well.”
The Italians will try again in 2023, and Coulthard thinks they certainly have a shot. The 13-time Grand Prix winner said: “I believe in Ferrari – not in the mystique but in the lap time. They’ve had the qualifying world championship [in 2022], and their car has been exceptional. Charles [Leclerc] was their lead driver for the majority of the year in terms of being able to exploit that performance and I do feel the car has been coming stronger towards the end of the year.”
David Coulthard ‘believes’ in the Ferrari drivers
While David Coulthard is clearly not focusing on the Ferrari ‘mystique’, he believes the team have the talent to succeed. Despite all the issues that plagued them, including the reliability, the F1-75 was clearly a very competitive car, especially early on. While it all fell apart late on, it’s still a good base for them to build from. If the right package is there, both drivers are very capable. All this means that the Briton thinks Ferrari are definitely contenders for the title.
Coulthard said: “Not based on it just being a red car with a prancing horse, but based on what they’ve got on their hands – a very fast Grand Prix car and two very fast and motivated drivers. So, in 2023, they have to be targeting the world championship and I think they can achieve their goals, if they can iron out the issues that are blatantly obvious to everyone.”
The former McLaren man ‘would like to believe’ in a three-way title fight in 2023. It’s definitely possible – considering how much Mercedes cut down the gap by the end of the season. As for Ferrari, they would need to sort out their issues to truly pose a challenge – that’ll be a big part of new team principal Frederic Vasseur’s job. Charles Leclerc is also hoping for a three-team championship battle in 2023.
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)