Ferrari behind on 2015 F1 car development
Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne has warned that the team is behind on it’s 2015 car development
Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne has warned that the team is behind on it’s 2015 car development.
2014 saw a number of significant changes of personnel at Ferrari, with team principal Stefano Domenicali being replaced by Marco Mattiacci in April, Marchionne taking over from Luca di Montezemolo later in the year and Fernando Alonso’s departure also being confirmed before Mattiacci himself was replaced.
With Maurizio Arrivabene being appointed the new team principal, he then oversaw the departures of senior team members such as Pat Fry and Nikolas Tombazis. Speaking at the Detroit Motor Show, Marchionne said the changes has left the team behind schedule on the design of its 2015 car.
“We’re starting the season a bit late because the design of the new car was started late,” Marchionne said. “But we don’t have to freeze the engine by the first race, so it will be a very interesting season. I think the car will get better as we go through the year.”
Marchionne explained that the changes – especially removing Montezemolo as chairman – were brought about due to fear that the F1 team’s poor performance would start to impact on the rest of the company.
“We had a disaster of a season in 2014, and I think organisations tend to get lazy. So it was time to bring about some change. On the road car side, (the business) is doing tremendously well, but at the heart of the success of Ferrari is what it does on the Formula 1 track.
“And if it doesn’t get that right, if it doesn’t fight properly, then I think it will ultimately impact on brand. So we had to intervene. We have a new guy, a team principal, who has been involved in racing a long part of his professional life — Maurizio Arrivabene – and he’s busy now. We’ve got a technical guy, (James) Allison, who’s taking over the technical side of the business. So we’ve got the team.”
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