"It's a knife in my wound" - Former Ferrari president on team’s current misery
Former Scuderia Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo reckons it will take a very long time for the Prancing Horse to get back to the top of Formula 1. Fans had high expectations from Ferrari going into the 2023 season, as the SF-23 was supposed to help Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz fight for the F1 title.
However, three races into the season, things are looking bleak for the team. The Maranello-based team are yet to feature on the podium, let alone win a race. Ferrari are fourth in the constructors' standings, behind Red Bull, Aston Martin and Mercedes.
Di Montezemolo, who was president of Ferrari from 1991 to 2014, has said that watching the team fall out of the top three 'hurts' him. He told Italian television channel La7 (via soymotor):
“It’s a knife in my wound. Ferrari together with my family is the most important thing in my life. I have been around for 25 years in two periods. It’s painful for me, I’m sorry to see them like this. I don’t think it’s a short-term crisis; it’s a question of rebuilding, and we need to bring together the best technicians”.
The 75-year-old had an extremely successful time with Ferrari. He put together the team of Michael Schumacher, Jean Todt, Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne, which helped Schumacher end Ferrari's 21-year title drought, before adding four more F1 to the bag.
Di Montezemolo said that hiring the best people won't change the team's fortunes if the culture doesn't change. He also criticised the management for overestimating the performance of the 2023 car during its unveiling:
“I brought in Todt, Domenicali, Brawn and Byrne; Schumacher came later. There was also a serious crisis at first, but a team was built. But even if you start bringing in some technicians of different nationalities, you also have to change the culture in the company in the areas where it is needed.”
He added:
“I found the triumphalist speeches in the presentation wrong. I was expecting a car that evolved from last year.”
“Ferrari is the absolute disappointment of the season” - Former F1 driver Timo Glock
Former Formula 1 driver Timo Glock has termed Ferrari as the biggest disappointment of the 2023 F1 season.
At the 2023 Australian Grand Prix, a late penalty saw Carlos Sainz finish 12th, while Charles Leclerc retired on the opening lap after making contact with Lance Stroll.
Glock, who raced for Jordan, Toyota, Virgin Racing and Marussia in F1, has lambasted Ferrari following a point-less event in Melbourne. In his column for Sky Sports Deutschland, he said:
“For me, Ferrari is the absolute disappointment of the season. In terms of pace, the red team are not getting anything together. It was certainly not the start to the season that Ferrari had hoped for, that we had hoped for.”
Ferrari are fourth in the constructors' standings, 97 points behind runaway leaders Red Bull (123).