From 'rock bottom' to F1 favourites: The story behind Ferrari's turnaround

Ferrari have gone from their worst season in four decades in 2020 to frontrunners in 2022. How? And can they keep up their championship momentum? Sky Sports F1 expert Mark Hughes provides his insight...

Ferrari have hit the ground running in 2022 in a way that hasn't been seen since 2018.

Back then, Sebastian Vettel won the opening two races amid very stiff competition from Mercedes. This time the competition is coming from Red Bull but the performance advantage looks, if anything, to be with Ferrari even more than was the case four years ago.

Back then, Mercedes - having got used to winning as a routine for the previous four years - always looked the stronger, more sure-footed team in their operations even on those days when their car wasn't quite as fast as the Ferrari.

This time around Ferrari appear to be built on more secure foundations. Operationally they have looked much slicker in the last season or so than during the Vettel era. They have a more settled, less schizophrenic ambience with Mattia Binotto providing a calmer leadership than Maurizio Arrivabene back then.

Ferrari have followed a very individualistic technical path with this car - which they had done also in 2017 and '18 - and have had the perfect preparation in that they did not need to worry about compromising the 2021 season in order to fully prepare for this year. The '21 car was not in any way a title contender and the emphasis since the beginning of 2020 has always been upon maximising the new regulations (originally set for '21, later postponed to '22).

Rock bottom was 2020, when Ferrari's previous interpretation of the fuel flow regulations was specifically outlawed, leaving the team with a serious power shortfall and a badly flawed car. It