Flavio Briatore comments on Ferrari's waning form in F1

Former Renault boss Flavio Briatore recently shed light on Ferrari's underwhelming form in the 2024 F1 season. The Italian national believes the team failed to reach its potential dropping down to fourth behind Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes.

The Scuderia had a comparatively better start to their season than they had in 2023. The Italian team won two races over the course of this season and looked strong to threaten Red Bull in the Constructors' Championship.

However, they failed to make amends despite having a solid platform as McLaren and most recently Mercedes outperformed them. Following the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix, the Prancing Horse's performance went downhill and Charles Leclerc turned out to be the biggest sufferer.

Briatore said (via La Politica nel pallone on Radio Rai):

"Ferrari started off very strong. The others have developed much more incisively, that's logical. Now it's the fourth force in the World Championship."

The Maranello-based team are all set to bring Lewis Hamilton next season. However, Briatore believes that would not help them if they cannot deliver the seven-time world champion with a championship-worthy car.

"Now there will be a change of drivers, with the arrival of Lewis Hamilton: the drivers always count, but they count when they have a car that they can drive," he added.

Hamilton will arrive in place of Carlos Sainz after the Italian team chose not to extend the Spanish driver's contract in February. The Briton will drive alongside Leclerc in 2025 and beyond wearing the iconic red.

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Fred Vasseur believes Ferrari has more potential amid a turbulent run

Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur is optimistic about his team's chances despite the recent poor run. The Frenchman is of the opinion that the Italian team is heading in the right direction.

Race winner Charles Leclerc of Monaco and Ferrari, Third placed Carlos Sainz of Spain and Ferrari and Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur celebrate on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco at Circuit de Monaco on May 26, 2024 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

The Italian outfit recently brought an upgrade package. However, they are still to extract its full potential. Reports revealed that the SF-24s would need one or more race weekends to reach their final form. Vasseur said (via Formu1a.uno):

"The direction is the right one. It can’t be a positive or negative weekend that decides whether a direction is right. I also said this after the victory in Monaco. There are weekends where we were faster than Max, as fast as Max or slower than him. It takes 2-3 Grands Prix to extract the potential."

Fred Vasseur's team is currently in P2 in the Constructors' Championship with 291 points. They trail leaders Red Bull by 64 points. McLaren and Mercedes are in P3 and P4 with 268 and 196 points, respectively.

Drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz occupy P3 and P4 with 150 and 135 points, respectively, in the Drivers' Championship.