Ferrari 'needs to improve' but belief in title win before 2026 is firm

Ferrari president John Elkann says he believes the team can win both championship titles before 2026.

The Scuderia started this season in superb fashion as they won two of the opening three races, with Charles Leclerc building up a good early lead in the Drivers’ standings.

Indeed, it very much looked as though Ferrari were back after a couple of seasons away from the sharp end of the grid and, naturally, hopes were increasing of a first Drivers’ title win since 2007 and a first Constructors’ championship crown since 2008.

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However, both dreams are rather in tatters now with Leclerc 109 points off of Max Verstappen, with Carlos Sainz even further back, and Red Bull also well over 100 points clear of Ferrari in the Constructors’ standings.

It looks as though the wait for titles will extend by another year for the Scuderia, then, and Elkann has admitted that improvements need to be made, though he did say he was happy with the work Mattia Binotto has done and he made a positive prediction about the team’s near future:

“We have great faith in Mattia Binotto and appreciate everything he and all our engineers have done,” he said to Gazzetta dello Sport.

“But there is no doubt that the work in Maranello, in the garage, on the pit wall and at the wheel needs to improve.

“Putting our trust in Binotto and his team was the right decision and it has paid off. Thanks to them we are competitive and winning again. But I am not satisfied because I think we can always do better. That’s why I believe that before 2026 Ferrari will once again win the Constructors’ and Drivers’ titles, with Charles Leclerc in pole position.”

Ferrari will be eager to learn from this year’s ups and downs and, if