Ferrari has not just had a couple of poor seasons, it is in crisis. In the last eight months there have been three team principals and the firing of a slew of senior engineers at a rate unprecedented, even for Ferrari.
Sergio Marchionne, the CEO of Fiat Chrysler, has been reported as that saying he intended to 'kick ass'. Every F1 boss has to make hard decisions, all the time, but I cannot recall any one of them publicly saying that they were 'kicking ass'. That is macho management mumbo jumbo. It goes without saying that Marchionne has an MBA = More Bullshit Available.
What does the guy suppose the people at Maranello have been doing around the clock? A racing team is not a conventional business, it engenders passion in the work-force. Nobody needs to remind them that they are not winning races.
In 1986, March Engineering had become so profitable, on the back of Indycar and F3000, that it launched as a public company, the first racing car constructor to do so. Managers were head-hunted 'to run the company as a sensible business', in the words of Robin Herd, co-founder and then sole owner.
The people recruited had been fine in conventional business, but they were useless in a motor racing environment. You will now find March mentioned in the history books. The bright new managers neglected their core customers but came up with all kinds of ideas, including a March aftershave, probably just a whiff of Castrol 'R'.
Some have said that if Ferrari had been doing better on the track the share price when Fiat Chrysler was floated in October would have been higher. This is typical of conventional thinking. Who associates Chrysler with Ferrari? Chrysler once owned Lamborghini and involved it in Formula One. Did that give Chrysler glamour?
In the UK, Lancias (modified Fiats) have been offered as Chryslers, complete with TV ads stressing Good Ole Yankee Know-How. Yankee Know-How on a Lancia? The exercise has bombed, it has been a total failure, yet Marchionne thought it a good idea.
For years, Alfa Romeo worked with Mazda on the replacement to the MX5/Miata, the most successful roadster in history. The Italian version would have had an Alfa Romeo engine and styling cues, it would have been the natural successor to the Giuletta Spyder, but it now may be a Fiat.
Mr Macho Manager Marchionne has made comments about poor decisions at Ferrari. These have been seen as thinly veiled criticism of Luca di Montezemolo. Luca thinks so and has said that he will not comment, which itself is a comment.
Luca worked tirelessly for Ferrari. Of course he tried to work every unfair advantage, that is what all successful racing bosses do. The phrase, 'unfair advantage' was coined by Roger Penske who was a dab hand at the game, whether it was acid-dipping the shells of Trans-Am cars or commissioning Ilmor (whose founding he funded) to make a push-rod engine for the Indianapolis 500.
Di Montezemolo has worked his corner well, grabbing every advantage he can. Other team principals sometimes have cried 'foul', but only when they have been out-smarted.
Apart from overseeing two of Ferrari's most successful spells in F1, the Lauda and Schumacher eras, di Montezemolo has transformed the road cars. There was a time when the standard was not that high, though they sure were pretty. When John Barnard joined, he was given a Mondiale as a company car. A journalist asked what he thought of it and Barnard gave an engineer's reply. Later, he had to 'clarify' his comments.
Today, Ferrari has been cited as the world's most valuable brand and that did not happen by accident. But it happened under di Montezemolo's reign. It is not just a case of selling cars from the showroom floor, serial owners are allowed special privileges, like being able to put their names down to have first call on limited editions, some of which are made specially for them.
Di Montezemolo is from an aristocratic background, he knows his clientele. Marchionne knows how to shift a lot of cheap cars.
I think it comes down to Marchionne and di Montezemolo being two bulls in the same field.
The fact remains that no team stays on top all the time. Ferrari enjoyed a rare run of success during the Schumacher, Brawn and Todt years but this was exceptional. Ferrari has always been a top team, but only occasionally has it been dominant.
Jean Alesi, one of the best wet weather drivers ever, spent his prime years with the Scuderia and ended his career with only one Grand Prix win. No wonder Fernando Alonso wanted out.
During its entire history, Ferrari has introduced only one notable innovation: the paddle gear shift. That was the work of John Barnard whom Ferrari poached from McLaren in 1986.
Ferrari receives a bigger slice of the revenue cake than any other team. There is a myth that Formula One needs Ferrari, but no team is bigger than the sport in which it competes, not even Arsenal. In any case, Ferrari was virtually absent during 2014.
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