Ferrari starting to feel pressure from Italy

Ferrari has started to come under fire from Italy, as Italian media reports that the team has fallen behind Mercedes in recent races. The Maranello outfit has not won a race since the Monaco Grand Prix and was out-classed in both qualifying and the race at the British Grand Prix.

"Ferrari's defeat was the worst this season," said the La Gazzetta dello Sport. "Ferrari returns home with concern the British grand prix was perhaps the turning point in favour of Mercedes. The last three races were difficult but now the worries are bigger."

Ferrari started the season strongly after winning two of the opening three races. Adding one more in Monaco, rivals Mercedes has won two more than the Scuderia, with Red Bull being gifted a victory in Azerbaijan. 

At the British Grand Prix, both Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen suffered punctures in the last number of laps, with Niki Lauda of Mercedes saying the team was the cause of its own downfall: "They paid for deciding to go to the end with those tyres," he said. "It could have been foreseen that it would not work. This was the turning point for me. We have worked and worked and worked."

Fergal Walsh