Scuderia Ferrari - Cosa sta succedendo?
Yes, they have a long history in F1 and yes it’s a world brand, and even I like the road cars they design. But it seems the Italian team is struggling with itself, and for some reason gets a different treatment then other established teams like Williams and McLaren when it comes to Formula 1. Just some observations, and best guess why.
100M for a start
It’s a known fact, that Ferrari has negotiated and additional 100M ‘start’ payment for turning up in the F1 championship each year. This was still under Ecclestone negotiated, because F1 without Ferrari would not exist was the statement. During the recent talks by the new owner of the commercial rights of F1, this was again a topic amongst other teams to distribute the money more even. Of course Ferrari would oppose this, and probably has some Veto vote to make sure this doesn’t happen. As a reference, top teams spend around 500 – 600M each year and small teams around 90-100M.
Race ‘incidents’
Most recent ‘sandwich’ by Vettel and Raikkonen performed on Max Verstappen, was a highly debated incident. Ferrari was pointing fingers to Verstappen, not blaming their own drivers in any way. And with proof in video and slow motion footage, they still were not convinced they were to blame. Even Horner (Red Bull) responded that they need to make an appointment for an eye check-up. Also on social media, and not only by Dutch fans, it was clearly not the mistake of Max. On the opposite, the FIA / Race director didn’t see any reason to blame any of the involved drivers for it. My best guess; they didn’t wanted to become a decider in the championship by handing out penalties to Vettel.
Friends in high places?
But this incident is not a one-off, over the years many incidents involving Ferrari drivers did not result in a penalty for them. So it seems that Ferrari, not only get the bonus but also a ‘free passage from jail’ card. That can be used a few times each season. Some TV reporters even responded that if such an incident would have happened to Sauber, they for sure would get penalty points and a grid penalty. Again my best guess: over the years former Ferrari team management have joined up with FIA. And friendships from the past will also have an influence in these types of situations. And let’s not forget, the F1 is considered to be more entertainment then a true sport with equal chances. So in order to help the championship to stay attractive, Mercedes needs to be challenged by other teams because another WC for Mercedes is considered not good or the sport. So what would you do, if you could help by just doing nothing…
Pointing fingers.. in the wrong direction
Proud, that’s probably the best word to summarize the team spirit. And yes, they have had many successful years with Schumacher, but this is history now and 10 years ago. We have seen the dominance of Red Bull and Mercedes since then, and a lot of ‘almost there’ performances by the team. This year, it only took 3 races to get from a title challenger to a lost championship. And the reasons why it happened were not the things to be proud of. So who to blame? Not the drivers, not the team, so… let’s point towards suppliers. A part of only 50 euro that failed, resulted in the loss of a potential championship (?).
It all maybe comes down to the Italian way. It might help to not rely on benefits of the past and sheer proud, but be more humble and down to earth to actually achieve the goal.
100M for a start
It’s a known fact, that Ferrari has negotiated and additional 100M ‘start’ payment for turning up in the F1 championship each year. This was still under Ecclestone negotiated, because F1 without Ferrari would not exist was the statement. During the recent talks by the new owner of the commercial rights of F1, this was again a topic amongst other teams to distribute the money more even. Of course Ferrari would oppose this, and probably has some Veto vote to make sure this doesn’t happen. As a reference, top teams spend around 500 – 600M each year and small teams around 90-100M.
Race ‘incidents’
Most recent ‘sandwich’ by Vettel and Raikkonen performed on Max Verstappen, was a highly debated incident. Ferrari was pointing fingers to Verstappen, not blaming their own drivers in any way. And with proof in video and slow motion footage, they still were not convinced they were to blame. Even Horner (Red Bull) responded that they need to make an appointment for an eye check-up. Also on social media, and not only by Dutch fans, it was clearly not the mistake of Max. On the opposite, the FIA / Race director didn’t see any reason to blame any of the involved drivers for it. My best guess; they didn’t wanted to become a decider in the championship by handing out penalties to Vettel.
Friends in high places?
But this incident is not a one-off, over the years many incidents involving Ferrari drivers did not result in a penalty for them. So it seems that Ferrari, not only get the bonus but also a ‘free passage from jail’ card. That can be used a few times each season. Some TV reporters even responded that if such an incident would have happened to Sauber, they for sure would get penalty points and a grid penalty. Again my best guess: over the years former Ferrari team management have joined up with FIA. And friendships from the past will also have an influence in these types of situations. And let’s not forget, the F1 is considered to be more entertainment then a true sport with equal chances. So in order to help the championship to stay attractive, Mercedes needs to be challenged by other teams because another WC for Mercedes is considered not good or the sport. So what would you do, if you could help by just doing nothing…
Pointing fingers.. in the wrong direction
Proud, that’s probably the best word to summarize the team spirit. And yes, they have had many successful years with Schumacher, but this is history now and 10 years ago. We have seen the dominance of Red Bull and Mercedes since then, and a lot of ‘almost there’ performances by the team. This year, it only took 3 races to get from a title challenger to a lost championship. And the reasons why it happened were not the things to be proud of. So who to blame? Not the drivers, not the team, so… let’s point towards suppliers. A part of only 50 euro that failed, resulted in the loss of a potential championship (?).
It all maybe comes down to the Italian way. It might help to not rely on benefits of the past and sheer proud, but be more humble and down to earth to actually achieve the goal.