Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto was bewildered by the double whammy his team suffered during qualifying for the German Grand Prix on Sunday, as the pre-session favourites were plagued by two unrelated issues that will see the red car's line-up tenth and last on the grid.
Trouble started when Sebastian Vettel reported a power issue on his car and after returning to pits never made it out into Q1 again, not setting a time in the process. The team are investigating an intercooler component failure as the cause.
Nevertheless, Charles Leclerc carried tifosi hopes in the sister car but they were also dashed as it too had a problem leaving the #16 car stranded in the pit garage for Q3, not setting a time means he will start from tenth. His problem was fuel pump related.
The self-flagellation in the team's qualifying report - titled A Bad Sunday - described the team's performance as "dire" which was echoed by Binotto when he faced media at Hockenheim after his worst Saturday at the helm of the Scuderia.
He said of the woeful afternoon at Hockenheim, “At the moment the entire team is bitterly disappointed. We feel especially sorry for our drivers who were in with the chance of doing something special for the people back in the factory who are working so hard and for all our fans.
"We are now carrying out an in-depth analysis of what happened. What we do know is that they were two completely different problems, neither of which had ever occurred before. The first indications from Sebastian’s car lead us to believe it could be related to a component on the intercooler.
"The component is to the same specification as those used previously and it was fitted new. Charles had a problem with the fuel pump control unit.
"We have shown this weekend that our race pace is good, which makes it even more frustrating that we were not able to show what we could do in qualifying.
"We are angry with ourselves and I myself feel responsible for what has happened. But I am also aware that we must react calmly and do our best tomorrow. That’s what we’re here to do," added the Ferrari team boss.
At the 2017 Japanese Grand Prix, a faulty spark plug was responsible for Vettel's early retirement at a race that was the final nail in the coffin of his campaign against Lewis Hamilton that year.
Big Question: What now for Ferrari?
https://www.grandprix247.com/2017/10/08/faulty-spark-plug-mortal-blow-for-vettel-title-bid/
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