Ex-Ferrari boss optimistic for 2020

Former Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali thinks his old team can bounce back next year following a poor 2019. The Italian titans impressed many observers in pre-season and were expected to seriously challenge Mercedes for the title. However, they endured a torrid time in the first half of the season with Sebastian Vettel making elementary errors and Charles Leclerc’s inexperience shining through. Mercedes ended up winning the first eight races and it was not until after the summer break that Ferrari started to show genuine signs of pace. Leclerc has won two races this term, while Vettel, despite being a four-time world champion, only won for the first time in Singapore last month. Despite their struggles, which have seen Vettel’s future put under scrutiny, Domenicali, team boss from 2008-2014, says he has seen enough progress with the car this year to suggest 2020 could be good. “Without Bahrain and other races that characterised this season, this end of 2019 would have been different because of how much the car has been developed in recent months,” he said. “I believe they will have a fantastic chance in 2020.”