16/09/2020
NEWS STORY
In 1988, weeks after team founder Enzo Ferrari's death, the Gods looked down on the Italian outfit, and with a little help from Jean-Louis Schlesser, served up the perfect pick-me-up for the Maranello squad and the tifosi, gifting drivers Gerhard Berger and Michele Alboreto a home 1-2. It was the only race that season that McLaren failed to win.
Sadly, to mark the occasion of Ferrari's 1,000th Formula One World Championship race, there were no such gifts from above, indeed, to add to their misery team members were forced to sit through an abysmal celebratory event the night before.
For this most historic of events, the Scuderia could only manage 8th and 10th, and were it not for the retirements of Verstappen, Sainz and Stroll it is entirely possible that neither of the burgundy cars would have finished in the points.
No wonder then that Ferrari CEO, Louis Camilleri is unable to give the team or its fans any cheer.
"Realistically, it's going to be tough," he admitted, as he pondered not only this season, but next year also as the rules remain virtually unchanged.
"In Formula 1 we're always fighting time, on track and in development," he continued. "There's no magic bullet. It will take time.
"I'm hoping with a bit more flexibility in the regulations next year we can at least step it up from where we are," he added.
"Mercedes, hats off to them, they've done an incredible job, we'll see in 2022 with the new regulations whether it creates a reset.
"We are in a hole now," he admitted, "we know we are in a hole. It's a confluence of factors, but anything I say will come across as excuses. And we're not into excuses.
"What matters is to focus on the issues we have, to work hard with determination to get to what we consider to be our rightful place."