Ferrari says 'our objective is to be competitive, not to win the championship' despite being the top contender for 2022 F1 title

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto claimed that the team’s primary objective for the 2022 season is to remain competitive and not necessarily win the world championship. He insisted that the Scuderia will not be altering its original development plan.

Speaking to the BBC, Bionotto said:

“We set our objectives to be competitive in 2022. So, our objective is to be competitive, not to win the championship, and it would be completely wrong to turn that into ‘let’s try to win the championship because we are so competitive’.”

He further said:

“Being competitive is one fact. Becoming World Champion is another level of task. [Saying] that is maybe to take off some pressure from the team, but also, I think it would be wrong as management to change objectives from the ones we gave them.”

Ferrari had the strongest start to a season in nearly a decade this year. After the first few races, the team comfortably led both the Driver and Constructor Standings substantially, while its rivals struggled with performance and reliability issues.

However, in the last few races, the team’s fortunes have taken a dip, owing to reliability issues and poor strategic decisions, along with crucial mistakes from both its drivers, leading them to lose their lead in the championship.

Nevertheless, the Ferrari F1-75, with a searing single lap pace and competitive race pace, still remains the class of the field. With fixes to its engine and gearbox-related reliability issues, as well as better strategic decisions, the Scuderia can still fight back hard, especially since it's still early days of the season.

Despite their insistence on not changing course in regards to the development plan, Binotto has assured fans that the team won’t back away from the fight. He said:

“It doesn’t mean we will not do it. Maybe we will do it as soon as possible, but we are conscious of the fact it is more than only being competitive.”

He continued:

“No doubt what we intend to do is to try to open a cycle, become World Champion and once, try to stay there. But I think it will take time.”

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Ferrari is looking for “continuous improvements” in its quest for world championship glory

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto says the team is continuously looking to make improvements and find opportunities every race weekend in its rebuilding process. He believes that the Scuderia still has some way to go before being fully ready to win a championship.

Speaking to the BBC, he said:

“Our internal mindset is still we need to improve as a team to be capable of winning a championship. And it is important to stay focused on each single race. We are not looking at the classifications.”

He further said:

“More important is to let them focus on our process of continuous improvement, so each race is an opportunity for lesson-learned review and to build to do something better.”

Despite its early dominance this season, Ferrari made a huge blunder at the 2022 Monaco GP, costing the team an assured victory, while helping its rival Red Bull extend its lead in both the championships. Binotto said that the weekend was a great learning experience for the team, one from which they can bounce back better.

It will be interesting to see how Ferrari fares this weekend in Azerbaijan.