Ferrari waited too long to sack F1 team's management in 2022 - Doornbos

Former Formula 1 driver Robert Doornbos thinks Ferrari made "so many mistakes" in 2022 that changes at the top should have come as far back as the summer break.

The future of team principal Mattia Binotto has been under the microscope of late, with Italian putting an end to things by confirming his departure. The 2022 season saw the Scuderia finish second in both championships, but they were ultimately far short of the title challenge, which they felt was possible.

The F1-75 took 12 pole positions in the 22-race season between Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, respectively, but the two drivers only managed to convert them into four race victories between them.

Both have acknowledged the need for improvements at Ferrari if they are to sustain a fight with Red Bull and Max Verstappen next year, especially with a new team principal at the helm in 2023.

Change is needed

Doornbos, who raced for Minardi and Red Bull in 2005 and '06 in his F1 career, feels the myriad of errors at Ferrari in the season's first half should have been enough to enforce changes at Maranello, rather than carrying on until the end of the year.

"That is something I can really get excited about: a listed company, such a big team, so much investment, so much pressure to finally achieve success again - and then you perform like that," Doornbos wrote in a column for Top Gear Magazine in the Netherlands.

"They realised in Barcelona that they have a car with which they could potentially compete for a world title... and then you make so many mistakes that are unnecessary.

"Strategic mistakes, pitstop mistakes and just blunders. And on top of that, the drivers throwing it away themselves. Then you're just not ready to attack against a well-oiled machine-like Red Bull.