John Elkann will not look fondly back on his comments made about Ferrari’s ambitions back in 2022.

It has been eight years since John Elkann became the chairman at Ferrari, and he has been desperate to end the team’s Formula 1 title drought.

But 2026 has not been that turning point for Ferrari with Kimi Antonelli winning the Drivers’ Championship and Mercedes clinching the Constructors’ title in Brazil.

John Elkann’s Ferrari promise is officially broken

Ferrari remains the most successful team on the F1 grid by a big margin, but McLaren and Mercedes certainly have more recent success, which will be a concern to Elkann.

Back in 2022, Elkann made a promise to Ferrari fans that the Scuderia would be back on top by 2026.

“I’m confident that between now and 2026, Ferrari will win a constructors’ and drivers’ world championship again,” Elkann said.

“We’ll achieve this before the 20-year drought, given that our last drivers’ world championship was in 2007 and the constructors’ in 2008.”

However, Ferrari have had to settle for P2 in the Constructors’ standings. They are 95 points clear of Red Bull in P3 but a staggering 142 points behind Mercedes.

Ferrari know what it takes to win in 2027

Once again, Ferrari have had to settle for being second-best on the F1 grid. They have remained competitive in recent years, but never built a car capable of competing for the top honours.

However, there are some signs of hope from Maranello.

Ferrari’s recent upgrades worked well and put them back in contention for race victories. It is blindingly clear that the biggest issue facing the team is their underperforming engine and power unit.

For 2027, Ferrari know the top priority is to solve their power issues and provide Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc with an engine capable of competing with the likes of Red Bull and Mercedes.

The Ferrari chassis is among the best on the grid, but there are reports that Ferrari’s engine is worse than Audi’s, and that has stopped them from competing in 2026.

Perhaps Elkann was just one year too eager with his promise to Ferrari fans…