Ferrari’s vice-chairman reveals biggest hurdle facing its F1 team today

Piero Ferrari believes it has become harder for a Formula 1 team to close the gap to the front since the introduction of the cost cap in 2021.

The 80-year-old made that remark while commenting on Ferrari’s current plight in F1, with the Maranello team currently enduring the longest title drought in its history, having last won a championship in 2008.

The Scuderia has historically enjoyed an advantage over its rivals thanks to its stronger financial standing and a more favourable commercial deal with FOM, but the current restrictions on spending mean it cannot throw more money to fix its issues.

Piero Ferrari points to a massive issue for F1 team

The cost cap was introduced under owner Liberty Media as a means to level the playing field and bring more teams into the mix, but the Italian brand's vice-chairman Piero Ferrari believes this has actually made it harder for a team to catch up to the frontrunners.

“I think it’s a matter of cycles,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “F1 has always worked this way, and when you start a negative cycle, you don’t know when you’ll hit rock bottom.

“Today, it’s very complicated because you can’t spend more money to bridge the gaps, given the budget cap restrictions.

“You need to string together a series of winning factors to change course.”

Despite the ongoing struggles, Piero Ferrari is certain that his team will be able to claw its way back to the front.

“These are cycles and as such they are destined to end and start over,” he said.

Despite its failure to add another title to its tally, Ferrari has been running consistently at the sharp end of the field since the introduction of the current V6 hybrid engines more than a decade ago.

With the exception of F1’s first year under V6 regulations in 2014 and the COVID-affected 2020 campaign, the Scuderia has finished inside the top three in the constructors’ standings every year.

Asked if the team carries the same spirit it had when it was founded by his father Enzo Ferrari in 1929, Piero said: “I think so.

“The spirit is the same, just look at the employees: there’s a very strong sense of belonging.

“In Maranello, you see them still wearing their uniforms after work because being part of Ferrari is something of great value to those who work there.”