Former Ferrari chairman delivers 'alarming' verdict on 2026 title hopes

Former Ferrari president Luca Cordero di Montezemolo has delivered a sobering assessment of the team's current position, stating that while the SF-26 is a good car, it does not appear strong enough to challenge Mercedes for the championship. His comments highlight a painful decade-long gap since Ferrari last fought for a title until the final race, contrasting sharply with his own era of near-misses.

Why it matters:

Montezemolo’s critique carries significant weight due to his legacy of overseeing one of Ferrari’s most successful periods. His blunt verdict underscores a deep-seated frustration among the Tifosi and within the team’s hierarchy: consistent competitiveness, not just occasional podiums, is the expectation for Formula 1's most storied team. The admission that the current gap to the front is "quite alarming" frames the scale of the challenge facing Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur and his technical team.

The details:

• In an interview with Corriere della Sera, Montezemolo stated, "I’m sorry, but at least from what we’ve seen at the start of the season, it looks like they have a good car, just not one capable of fighting for the title."
• He pinpointed the core issue as a lack of championship contention in the final rounds, a stark contrast to his tenure. "What hurts me the most is that in the past ten years they’ve never even made it to the final race still in contention... In my time, we lost 11 titles in the final round — I remember them like punches to the stomach, but at least we were in the fight."
• A Glimmer of Hope: He did note that the chasing pack, including Ferrari, can still develop their cars and that long breaks in the calendar offer opportunities to close the gap, suggesting the situation is "not as clear-cut as it seems."
• Binotto's Indirect Jab: In a separate interview with L’Equipe, former Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto, now with the Audi F1 project, emphasized the need for clear structure and defined processes to build a winning team. He implicitly contrasted this with his experience at Maranello, where he suggested decisions were too often based on trial rather than a coherent long-term plan.

What's next:

The pressure is now on Ferrari to prove its former chairman wrong. The development race throughout the 2026 season will be critical to determine if the SF-26 can evolve into a genuine title contender or if it remains, as Montezemolo fears, merely the "best of the rest." His comments set a clear benchmark: for this season to be considered a true success, Ferrari must be fighting at the front when the championship reaches its climax.