Fittipaldi: Very difficult to be a Ferrari driver

Needless to say, the situation at Ferrari is not good these days, as the team missed out on their best chance in years to fight for both F1 Titles in 2022 following a string of driver errors, reliability problems, not to mention those infamous strategy blunders that have become a trademark for the Reds in recent years.

In 2023, matters seem to have worsened as the team's SF-23 seems to be a step backward compared to its predecessor, the F1-75, suffering from the same tyre degradation issues, despite being fast in qualifying like Charles Leclerc showed over the weekend of the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. It is not that reliable as well, with Leclerc himself retiring from the season opener in Bahrain with a control units problem.

While Ferrari's pace in qualifying trim was evident in Baku, Leclerc failed to win neither the Sprint Race or the Grand Prix, while Carlos Sainz struggled with his SF-23, the deficiency to his teammate sometimes reaching eight tenths of a second. Leclerc was second and third in the Sprint and the Grand Prix, while Sainz was fifth in both.

Emerson Fittipaldi believes the Scuderia drivers are under duress due to the high expectation of donning the coveted Red coveralls.

"I think Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc have been under the pressure of the expectations that come with Ferrari," Fittipaldi told kelbet.it. "The expectations that come from all of Italy, all Ferrari fans in the world.

"Ferrari means passion for racing. When you go to an F1 paddock, the Ferrari mechanics are very proud, just to have that red uniform which has a lot of history. They are very proud.

"But at the same time, everyone's demanding results. It doesn't matter what your role is in the team, you are under tremendous pressure when you're part of Ferrari," he pointed out.

The 1972 and 1974 F1 World Champion believes that the failures of Ferrari are usually blamed on the drivers, who take most of the heat, and he is right as we have seen over the course of the years many drivers coming to Maranello with high hopes, only to leave years later after failure, demotivated and broken - Sebastian Vettel- and if not so, they leave after burning bridges - Fernando Alonso.

"There's one thing that happens when Ferrari is not doing well. They say 'it's the driver'. This is historical," Fittipaldi said. "That creates a pressure on the driver that is greater than on a driver in any other team. That's my opinion.

"The Ferrari drivers are more under pressure than any those at any other Grand Prix teams existing now. They have to perform and deliver results. There is an expectation from history, from the name, from everything and that creates tremendous pressure on them," he explained.

"It's very difficult to be a Ferrari driver. I always had a dream to be a Ferrari driver but I know the tremendous pressure they're under."

Looking back on the last couple of years at Ferrari, the Brazilian added: "I think what has happened in the last two years with Ferrari's strategy, making mistakes, all this has created even more pressure on the drivers. It's a difficult position for them. Not easy to be there.

"It is a dream to be a Ferrari driver, yes, but it also comes with tremendous pressure. Carlos Sainz is under tremendous pressure, from the Italian press, the fans, the team," the 76-year-old concluded.