"It’s been frustrating"- Former F1 driver labels Ferrari's 2022 season a 'disaster'

Ferrari's 2022 F1 season has been labeled a 'disaster' by former Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari.

Alguersuari drove for Toro Rosso (now known as AlphaTauri) between 2009 and 2011, scoring 31 points over the course of that period with a career-best finish of P7.

The Maranello-based team started the season strongly with two wins in the first three races but things have not gone their way since. In the last 12 rounds of racing, Ferrari has only won two races, in Silverstone and Spielberg.

The Italian outfit has been plagued by reliability issues while also shooting themselves in the foot with their strategy calls on multiple occasions this season. Most recently, they compromised Carlos Sainz's chances in the Dutch GP, calling him in for a pit-stop without having the rear-left tire ready, resulting in a 12.7 second stationary stop for him.

Alguersuari sympathized with Sainz and Ferrari after the race in Zandvoort. Speaking on an episode of 'Any Driven Monday' on Sky Sports, the 32-year-old summed up Ferrari's 2022 season. He said:

“It’s been terrible. It’s been frustrating. They’ve built a really amazing car, right from the testing you could see in Barcelona, they were the quickest. They went to Australia, they were on pole, and for some reason, they just couldn’t really make it with the engine failures and not reliable at all."

The former Toro Rosso driver feels that Ferrari has done no favors for Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz with the manner in which they have managed their F1 season so far. He added:

"And at the end of the day, Formula One is not just being the quickest out there, you have to finish the race. For the drivers, I think it was also very difficult psychologically, especially because you’re the quickest out there, you can win races, you can still be a title contender, and then for some reason or the other, they just mess up."

He elaborated on their loads of issues which have only added to the pressure they face to win their first world title since 2008. Alguersuari said:

“They messed strategies with the tyres, then problems with the engine. So, of course, psychologically there is a problem, it affects you somehow, and then you make mistakes. So I think all in all, they just didn’t find a way, and that’s frustrating. And still a long way to go, so let’s see how they come out after that.”

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Carlos Sainz has been let down by Ferrari in 2022 F1 season, claims Jaime Alguersuari

Jaime Alguersuari feels that Carlos Sainz has been let down by Ferrari in his second season with the team after impressing in his debut campaign in 2021.

Sainz has been the unwitting victim of Ferrari's baffling strategy calls this season more than once, and this has resulted in him losing ground in the 2022 F1 World Drivers' Championship standings.

When asked about Sainz having to pay the price for Ferrari's errors despite performing well in qualifying, Alguersuari said:

“It’s not the first time we’ve seen it. So it’s frustrating as I said before, because you really expect the best from your team, every race, especially when now it’s not just about having the best car and doing amazing laps. You can’t really fail anywhere on the pit stops, on the strategy, if you want to go for the title, you have to finish the race, you have to finish in the top three. This is something Carlos is really aware of."

Alguersuari believes that if Ferrari are serious about mounting a title challenge, then they must eliminate the mistakes they keep making on a regular basis. The Spaniard concluded:

“If you look at his performances and his average scores, he’s always in the top five, top six. When it rains, he deals with the situation in a really perfect condition. He’s managed to always survive, which is super important for a top team. So, if you want to go for the title, you cannot really make mistakes and the team should really be aware that they are not performing well for the drivers at all. It’s been a disaster.”

Heading into the Italian GP in Monza, Ferrari are 135 points behind Red Bull at the top of the World Constructors' Championship standings with Mercedes trailing them by 30 points in P3.