"They came out with a rocket car"- Former driver highlights positives for Ferrari in 2022 F1 season

Jean Alesi believes a strong sense of perspective is necessary to analyze and understand Ferrari's 2022 F1 season.

The Italian giants had two average seasons in 2020 and 2021. However, with a new set of regulations in place this year, the team appeared to step up and jumped to the front of the field. However, their decent run was short-lived, and they soon dropped out of the title race.

Despite this dip in form, Alesi has decided to focus on the positive aspects of Ferrari's season. He believes the team should be praised for the improvements that they have made compared to the last two seasons. He told Give Me Sport in an interview:

"They hardly got on the podium. Then last year, they recovered a bit. And now, with these new regulations, they came out with a rocket car [which is] very competitive everywhere.

"But, of course, we are in the middle of the season, and now we can make the kind of judgement on what's happened. And they have had the moments where they made the wrong decision on the wrong moment. And you see how much a small mistake can have a big effect on the bad side."

Alesi, who raced for the team from 1991 to 1995, stressed the importance of having a fast car after so many years, especially when one is going up against teams like Red Bull. He said:

"What I have to say is it's more important to have a fast car and then to fine tune the team because this team [has gone] a long time without winning the championship, and they are building a group.

"And they are fighting with a group like Mercedes, or obviously, Red Bull, who in the last 12 years, they have won everything. And so this fine tuning to be competitive, not only with the car, but also on the racetrack, will take time."

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Ferrari have always had massive attention from their fans

Jean Alesi believes that Ferrari have always been subject to criticism from fans, and the team's history has somewhat been shaped by it. However, according to him, fans need to look at the bigger picture despite the team's faltering title bid this season. He said:

"Probably, since Ferrari [existed], the attention is always massive, and the fans are also very critical. I have a column in Italy for the newspaper Corriere della Sera and last time after Hungary, I made the column only for the fans. I was saying, 'Please, it's not like the World Cup. Every four years, and you miss a penalty, and it's the end of the world – it's not like that.'"

Alesi added that he believes in team principal Mattia Binotto and his young team. He said:

"Of course Ferrari are prepared to take a lot of criticism, and they know how to deal with it. But it's not nice. I believe so much in [team boss Mattia] Binotto and in the young team because when you have to race against engineers like [Red Bull design chief] Adrian Newey, he is a superstar.

"As an engineer, he has always made winning cars and, to be honest, [the] Ferrari looks faster, so that is a big achievement. The criticism from the press or from the fan is normal because Ferrari is Ferrari."

The 2022 F1 season is looking dismal for Mattia Binotto's team. After picking up wins in two of the first three races, things have gone downhill. Their lead driver, Charles Leclerc, finds himself a staggering 80 points behind championship leader Max Verstappen.