Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says "certain members" of the Ferrari team are to blame for their poor performance amid a disastrous Belgian Grand Prix.
The Scuderia was lucky to get their drivers out of Q1 in qualifying on Saturday, with Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel set to start 13th and 14th at Spa-Francorchamps.
At the heart of Ferrari's problems is an underpowered engine after the FIA investigation last year, and a disappointing SF1000 chassis as the pursuit of downforce has only resulted in more drag.
And commenting on the Italian team's downfall, Wolff took the opportunity to again seemingly kick the boot in on team boss Mattia Binotto.
“Ferrari is an iconic brand and they should be racing at the very front,” he told Motorsport-Magazin.com.
“It’s not good for Formula 1, it’s not good for the competition at the front.
“I very much feel with all the Tifosi and employees of Ferrari for this lack of performance," the Austrian added.
“At the end, one must question the priorities that have been set in recent times and where the lack of performance comes from, but overall nobody from the fans and Ferrari deserves such a result.
“It’s wrong to say ‘Ferrari priorities’ because that drags Ferrari and everybody in Ferrari into this. It’s maybe the decisions that have been made within the team, from certain members of the team.”
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Currently, Ferrari and Mercedes are still at loggerheads as the team pursues its appeal against Racing Point's penalty for using rear brake ducts that were designed by the Brackley-based team.
The reason is understood to be a regulation which will allow Racing Point to receive 2020-spec Mercedes non-listed parts without having to spend any development tokens.
Recently the FIA confirmed that rule would not be changed despite Ferrari's complaints and as a result, Wolff expects the Italian team to drop their appeal.
"I think this is going to resolve all hopefully next week," he said on Thursday. "I don't expect this to go to the International Court of Appeal."
