16/04/2022
NEWS STORY
Though delighted to see his team leading the standings, Ferrari chairman John Elkann points out that the season has only just begun.
Leading both championships on merit, with the F1-75 and Charles Leclerc looking to be in another league, some are already suggesting that Ferrari is heading for its first drivers title since 2007, its first team title since 2008.
However, over the years the tifosi have seen it all before, the Scuderia whipping up hopes only to shoot itself in the foot one way or another.
When Michael Schumacher finally won the title with Ferrari in 2000, at the fifth attempt, the tifosi had been waiting 21 years, and over the course of some of the seasons since 2007 many feared an equally long wait for a return to the top.
Speaking at the company's annual shareholders meeting, Ferrari chairman John Elkann, though delighted with the Scuderia's current success, has warned that it is far too early to start taking things for granted.
"We said two years ago that we had to work hard to get back to being competitive and the 2022 championship has got off to a truly thrilling start," he said.
"Like all our tifosi around the world, I am delighted we are competing at the highest level.
"That said, we know the season has just begun and in Formula 1 you are always surrounded by fierce competitors," he continued.
"We must work tirelessly as a team to optimise every aspect of our performance. That is the spirit and approach I look forward to seeing at Imola and as the season progresses."
Ferrari's last revival was in 2019, but this was eventually sidelined following a series of technical directives concerning the legality of the team's engines.
The failure of the FIA to publicly disclose the findings of its investigation of the Maranello power unit caused understandable outrage, while the team, and its customers, spent the next couple of seasons floundering as it sought to recover.
Last year, Ferrari was among the first to switch focus to the 2022 rules overhaul, while the power unit division had already been doing their bit to recover from the 2019 shambles.