After twenty years of presidency and a series of sporting and market records, from the Guinness Book of Records, Luke of Montezemolo can afford to talk about the 'his' Ferrari having the certainty of being believed. Or at least to be judged entirely credible. Let's follow him, then, trying to interpret the second meanings of the interview given last weekend to the microphones of Radio Rai.
More than an interview, actually. A series of messages not too transversal, so much so that more than one commentator has defined them as an ultimatum. At the formula 1, mostly.
In short: (In Italian only) three conditions for the Prancing Horse to continue competing in Grand Prix races. In a nutshell: more limits to aerodynamic research and a less decisive brake on testing, currently prohibited after the hangover that in the 90s had made the world championship a continuous merry-go-round on the track: race-test-race-test-race… With the inevitable escalation of costs for double-triple team organizations, exaggerated staff. But today, with the almost absolute ban on testing between one Grand Prix and another, anyone who starts the season with an extra gear is then almost impossible to catch up with. And starting the season with a technical-technological advantage is a miracle that Ferrari hasn't been able to do since the golden age of the Schumacher epic: maximum 2005, in short.
Luca di Montezemolo cries out for other innovations. He would like it third car for the major teams, perhaps supplied to minor teams who would thus take to the track with decent technical means, not those at times visibly inadequate recently deployed by the various Virgins (despite the starting billions, then retracted, by the magnate Richard Branson), Lotus, Hrt .
He also opposes the idea of architectural reductions for engines. “What do we do with 4-cylinder engines?”, he thundered. “We are Ferrari: not a motorcycle manufacturer”. All very logical. And frankly, not just from his almost sacred pulpit as president of a team that has raced and above all won more than anyone else, since before anyone else, with more glamor and global appeal than anyone else.
But let's go beyond requests, or demands, or ultimatums. The question is another: Can Ferrari really think of a future without Formula 1? The answer is no. The same happened 25 years ago: it was 1986 and Enzo Ferrari, struggling with the political power of the GPs over turbo and cost issues, managed to create a single-seater for the Indy Formula, which at the time had growing appeal even outside the United States. United. It was a bluff. Nobody fell for it, probably, but those pointed feet earned the Drake an increase in consideration by the assembly of the then dominant English teams. It's a bluff even today, because Ferrari would no longer be Ferrari without the GPs. To stop racing them is to stop hoping to win them, or to chase after the number 1 spring that has made Ferrari something unique and unrepeatable in the world panorama of cars and sports. More: passion and charm.
Everyone knows this: inside Ferrari and outside. Sporting power knows it and Bernie Ecclestone knows it, the slightly hidden owner and very evident driver of the F1 for many years. But given that even the Circus cannot do without the Reds, then something needs to change. And it will be changed. In an automotive world that is contracting at all latitudes, even Ferrari's budgets - albeit very prestigious ones - can no longer hope for the geometric expansions of the first 15 years of president Montezemolo. But the same goes for F.1, despite the ever new hunting grounds in China and India, Singapore and Korea. And without Ferrari, without its very transversal appeal especially for neophyte enthusiasts, the picture would become even grayer.
Ecclestone, always him, knows it well. The preferential economic agreements with the Cavallino a few years ago are the sign of this, and have had the unpleasant consequence of weakening the congregation of British teams always ready to make 'their' F.1, thus depriving Bernie and bypassing his voracity in terms of profit sharing. Everything suggests that it will end like this again this time. Something will change on a technical-sporting level, thus allowing the reds to make up for a negative result more easily, after four seasons without a Drivers' title and three without a Constructors' Championship.
- ultimatum of the red president were these: much more than the one launched to Felipe Massa, expected in 2012 again on performances as a Ferrari driver, otherwise he will have to pack his bags. At stake is the future of Ferrari, tied in triple thread with its ability to win, to fuel dreams. And very parallel also with the future charm of F.1 itself. Who will not be able to remain indifferent to this pre-combat cry.
