Having been away from home for much of the last month, it was time this week for a few grandparental pleasures. After the F1 engine announcements, there were inevitable grumblings from the manufacturers and some worthless sabre-rattling, so I enjoyed a day out looking at the back end of ostriches, mean-looking leopards and lazy lions at a safari park, with a young lady who pretends that the cupboard is an aeroplane and flies to Canada in three minutes, complete with safety demonstrations.
Back in the real world, there will be more grumbling next week when F1 starts getting serious about cost-cutting. This is not new. Ferrari built an Indycar back in the 1980s to try to convince F1 that it was serious about quitting the sport. But no-one believed them then and no-one is going to believe them now. If Ferrari is mad enough to leave F1 it will get what it deserves. If that sounds harsh it is because the team has been spoilt for too long and should accept to be treated fairly, rather than always demanding an unfair advantage. Half the world supports this supposed mystique, but it makes no sense at all. It’s like supporting a boxer who insists that his opponents have one hand tied behind their backs but still wants people to think he is the best. The truth is that the team cannot even win when it has such advantages, so one does wonder why the fans care more about the brand than they do about the moribund (and wasted) Bugatti or the busted flushes like BRM or Lotus.
At the moment Ferrari lacks pretty much everything that is worth supporting, most of all charm. Sergio Marchionne may be a magician in the car world, although one wonders if his house of cards will withstand a stiff breeze, but when it comes to racing he has yet to be convincing. Under his watch he has allowed the Ferrari F1 team to become aloof and arrogant in the presumed hope that it will perform better if it wastes no time on the media. Good for them. They have got a little closer, but now have less sympathy in their failure. It is getting towards 10 years since the team won an F1 title and there is no reason why they should get advantages that other great teams do not get.
If they fail, they fail. That’s the law of the jungle. Ask a lion.
joeblogsf1 
EXCELLENT article. Telling it like it really is, as always. Keep it up Joe.
I don’t know – there almost sounds like a slight undertone of desperation sometimes in these sorts of articles when so many want to stress so heavily that Ferrari needs them more than they need Ferrari, and therefore Ferrari shouldn’t quit.
I would also point out that quite a few of those involved in the inner workings of the IndyCar project in the 1980’s have said that it was not a bluff and the proposal was given serious weight.
Bobby Rahal has talked about how Ferrari had committed millions to the project, which ran over three years (he was participating in tests with the latest March 85C chassis around Fiorano back in 1985 to use as a benchmark), as did Trueman (the founder of Truesports Racing, the team which won the 1986 and 1987 CART titles and the team Ferrari had a greed would run their cars), who was invited over to help with the dyno tests of the engine.
Barnard, meanwhile, has cited the cost of the IndyCAR project as being part of the reason why Ferrari performed comparatively badly in 1986 and 1987, with funds and personnel that would have gone to the F1 team being diverted to the IndyCAR project instead.
Like those involved in the US, he didn’t believe that it was a bluff given that he was ultimately the one responsible for eventually cancelling the project. It may have been subsequently used as a bargaining chip, but those involved have said it started out as a far more serious endeavour than many are willing to give credit to it, to the point where it was beginning to hurt the performance of the F1 team as resources were drained from it.
Motor Sport needs Ferrari, but not at any price. On the other hand, my guess is Ferrari without cutting edge motor sport will affect their sales and support in the long term and, by the way, what will happen to their race team and its employees if they pull out?
Grit your teeth Liberty, call their bluff and help all the teams increase their revenues based on how much effort they are prepared to invest from now on.
Tim K
Motorsport and F1 are not the same thing!
Bravo Joe. Every single word on Ferrari was absolutely spot on.
+1
Plus one. Thank you.
Let’s all remind ourselves off the team to big to leave F1. Team Lotus, Brabham, Tyrrell, March,Ligier .etc . In there days off there success thinking they would leave was unthinkable.
If Ferrari did leave and the others remained and the racing and rules were the same for every team, Ferrari would be forgotten, I’ve never been a fan, I see there fans as been the same as a Chelsea supporter who was born in Hull, easy to be a fan when they are winning. I’m a Hull City supporter and a Williams supporter, win or loose , they are my teams. Both are sh@t at the moment.
Ferrari I’ve never got the so called love affair that people have for them.
I agree that Ferrari’s special status is stupid; if they’re so good why do they need so much help? The problem is that they are the trump card in the game just as the Indy 500 was the trump card in the feud with CART. If Ferrari bolts can the sport flourish?
Sure it can if it came to that, as long as it offers good competition…and equal distribution of funds should go a long way in achieving that. I am more concerned with Liberty Media taking the ‘entertainment’ value of the sport too far than I am with Ferrari leaving.
It’s quite clear that the upper echelons at Ferrari really do
believe that ‘some animals are more equal than others’
as Orwell showed us all those years ago. Time they were
served a dish of cold hard 2017 reality. They have to be
told in no uncertain terms that they are not ‘first among
equals’ but must toe the funding line along with everyone
else. At which point they can be expected to make a
great deal of noise and then go into the worlds greatest
Italian sulk.
A little time later, as they examine the harsh reality of their
true worth to motor sport, they will begin to think about how
much they would lose in every area by not being in F1.
Amazing what wonders the destruction of pathetic fantasies
can achieve, isn’t it ?
And the usual Ferrari F1 exit threat three… two… one… BANG! Seriously, I might be the only person who can imagine F1 without Scuderia, perhaps because they were so useless when I started watching F1 around 1994. I’m hoping Liberty will call their bluff and stop paying them large sums of monies just for showing up on the grid. I don’t mind them winning WDCs and WCCs but for the sake of sport I want them to be treated equally.
Nope, I started watching F1 in 1994 too and feel exactly the same way.
Sergie Marchionne might be a “magician” but please don’t tell this the the Lancia enthusiasts. Plenty of them would like to remove his liver!
Sorry but that is nonsense. Lancia was on life support well before Marchionne turned up.
As an ex multiple Lancia owner, I am sad at what this once proud brand has become, but its hardly the fault of SM.
However, I think he has a point. As fans I think we enjoy the distinctiveness of the various engines on the grid (and the different technical solutions to the various challenges) and I think it would be a shame if we ended up with a pretty-much-standardised engine design.
There will be more distinct engines in the future
Remember when you could tell the difference between a Ferrari, Benetton, Williams and McLaren just through the noise. You could even tell them apart if they were all painted white. The good old days.
Come on. Give Sergio a bung of $200m a year AND a spec engine and suddenly I suspect all his heartfelt lamentations about distinctiveness will cease… (I suspect we’ll never know).
I would personally support some continued recognition of the 50-year association. But make it 5-10% increment vs the other teams. Or even better substitute cash with some other form of benefit such as preferred component supplier rights etc.
Ferrari is the first team name most kids approaching F1 learn, they are the only team most non-fans could recognise.
Think Paris if the Eiffel was removed… locals and true connoisseurs would continue as normal, but strangers in far flung lands would consider it nigh on decapitation…
I don’t see the logic in this. They get extra cash from all the merchandise. Why should they get paid more for having been subsidised for years? If they win they get more cash. That’s fair.
That merchandising has been built on the history of the team.
Some years ago, I read an article about F1 merchandising revenue, Ferrari had totals of around $292 million. The rest of the grid combined couldn’t get close. Iirc McLaren was around the $90 million.
So of course it follows that any team wanting to handicap Ferrari would use media to get the message across.
Earlier this year, you reported that Mercedes sales totalled $156 billion, with profits in the many billions. Renault is a multi billion dollar company, also Honda. Then you can add that Red Bull, a fizzy drink manufacturer, takes on annual profits of 4-6 billion – all these companies dwarf Ferrari.
Whilst it might have been a Grandee over 30 years ago, they are minnows in the real world.
It’s unsurprising they play hardball wanting to keep the gifts from Bernie.
Tough. They didn’t ever any slack for the small F1 teams. Laws of the jungle. If they are not big they have to be clever.
an engine that the likes of Aston Martin, McLaren and the catpissinacan producers can stick whatever valve cover plastic sticker they chose.
My patience with your silliness is wearing thin
Amen JOE, its your site, your right to tolerate or not disagreement on your site.
It is.
Sergio is not a magician of the car world, although he is a legend in his own mind. When he (Fiat) gained control of Chrysler U.S. automobile sales were at 10 million units. By the time he and the morons in the business media proclaimed him a “magician” U.S. automobile sales were at 17 million units. A chimpanzee could have steered Chrysler and claimed victory on the back of that trough-to-peak economic cycle. It’s only the analytically-challenged and brown-nosers that can’t see through that nonsense. He’s more arrogant than Carlos Ghosn, and that is not easy.
B.t.w., Sergio would definitely pull the plug on F1 if he became convinced that it was no longer to the benefit of the car company to remain. Ferrari is no longer a “race car team that builds road cars on the side”
Excerpted from a blog post on year-on-year sales for last month: “Fiat Chrysler Automobiles saw overall sales sink by 13%. The Jeep and Ram brands both lost 3% last month. The Chrysler brand dropped 22%. Fiat fell 33% to 1,769 vehicles, while Dodge recorded a whopping 41% drop in year-over-year sales.”
Are you talking about an island just.in front of Europe?
America – some island don’t you think?
Although at least Ghosn has played the game in F1 and the UK has retained its Nissan production – I don’t see many Ferrari factories in the north of England. Correct me if I’m wrong.
A well written analysis of the situation. Ferrari have had it too good for too long. They need F1 more than F1 needs them.
Classic stuff Joe, always a pleasure to read your open and honest view on the world of F1 and beyond.
Well said sir, he acts like a petulant schoolboy…
Punchy: I like it! Jump in that cupboard and set co-ordinates for Banbury – I will buy you a pint when you land.
Somewhat OT – Re. the new engine rules, you write
> the development will be shortened and this will give everyone more of a chance
– and yes, it does give everyone more of a chance in the sense that it reduces the advantage of a bigger budget vs making the right calls on architecture. And it might shake up the rankings. But it also makes it more likely that the gaps between teams will get bigger, and that one team will run away with the championship, no?
+1
I’d still like the FIA to publish a table of points gained per $/€/£ given so we can see who makes the most of their development dollars. And another table that includes the team spend and sponsorship received.
It would also help poorer teams attract sponsorship to make up for the money imbalance they suffer from the bonkers money distribution.
It’s hilarious and so transparent when Ferrari take this ‘taking my ball home if you don’t pay us extra’ attitude, it doesn’t fit with the passion/emotion/excellence schtick they use the rest of the time.
Wasn’t it John Barnard that said you shouldn’t need 500 – 800 people to design an F1 car, only 1 or 2 teams need to do that, the other teams should just copy what works best…
Perhaps build on that with a trophy and a sackful of prize money paid to the team which extracts the greatest points per dollar ratio over the season. I’d like to see what Force India could do with an extra 50 million next year.
it really is sad what they’ve become. I’ve never really liked the Ferrari team, but never rooted against them. I can’t say that anymore. Sadly, they’re not even that fun to root against, it just doesn’t seem sporting.
Seems to me that F1 won’t skip a beat with Ferrari gone IF the new engine formula delivers the desired close racing. The problem is that Ferrari and we are told Verstappen want supremacy and Lewis is willing to fight. RBR fall into the supremacy view of the world as pushed by Horner and underlined by Newey wanting it to be an aero world championship. Unfortunately that is what you get with controlling the engines. I am not convinced Rossi Brawn et al can get the following car formula perfected. But the majority of F1 management needs to see the world from the Lewis perspective and get a thrill from multiple corners side by side with Alonso. Unfortunately Ferrari believes supremacy is the way you sell cars not the thrill of the fight. Ferrari don’t really value drivers, but it is the drivers fighting that gave the brand value, not the supremacy. Someone needs to explain to them what is of value to the company.
It surprises me that BBC/Benson, for example should play the story “Ferrari demand to keep the 100m extra and still the management can’t make the team win”. It would shut them up and embarrass them to d better.
Unless the F1 circus stuff people mouths with money so that they don’t utter such things in public?
“someone needs to explain to them what is value to the company” they (FERRARI) always waited for people of your caliber to explain value to them. that is why they are what they are in world value. bahnan totally.
Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull have spent hundreds of millions in the recent years and surely, a good portion of this isn’t just on disposable items but rather on longstanding infrastructure, wind tunnels and modelling software etc. Doesn’t a budget cap subsequently stop future outfits from pursuing this kind of long term investment? Allowing the current top teams to retain the advantage from spending prior to the budget cap?
One would hope property and buildings are not part of the budget cap as that indeed would be a distinct advantage to the established teams and a hindrance to teams which wish to grow.
Yes, I’ve yet to understand how a budget cap is going to handle the difference between revenue and capital spending.
That does not mean it cannot happen.
Lots of things have happened in F1 that haven’t succeeded, or worked as intended. I would like to see a budget cap – and I’d also like to see it work properly, without either locking in existing advantages in infrastructure or allowing endless dodgy accounting games to subvert its intentions.
I can never wholeheartedly applaud Ferrari achievements whilst they are receiving a sweetheart ‘long standing team’ bonus payment which I believe is bigger than the entire budget of some smaller teams. It might be heartwarming to see a ‘long standing team’ bonus paid on a short term basis to rescue a legendary team from insolvency (or a ‘plucky shoestring newcomer’ bonus for that matter), but the circumstances of Ferrari represent the opposite of such nobility of spirit.
+1.
Spot on Joe, I wish they would just bugger off. There’d be more money for all the other teams that would propbaly amount to the budget of a mid field team. I bet a bit of the old school spirit of racing would return as well, you remember, when one team helps another who’s in a tight spot with parts? That’s true sportsmanship, an equal playing field. I remember some of the teams helped out Williams after thier fire in the pits. I wonder if Ferrari were one of them?
The time home has done you good. Your line about the lady and your last line are about as good as anything I’ve read anywhere in the last few weeks.
Sergio Marchionne is certainly arrogant and daft by making this threat, all part of the horse trading I’m sure, but I wonder how his 1,000 racing team staff and his world champion driver will feel when Sergio says he would relish to take F1 out and it would save so much money he would be delighted.
His quotes
“It would be totally beneficial to the P&L [profits and losses],” “We would be celebrating here until the cows come home. He goes on to say Marchionne added he would feel “like a million bucks” about being the chief who took Ferrari out of F1. “I’d be working on an alternative strategy to try and replace it,” he said. “A more rational one, too”.
Well all this would make me believe his heart is not in all this anyway, hardly a great motivation to win next year’s championships.If I was Red Bull, Renault and McLaren I would tell the head hunter to go on a vacation to North Italy soon!
“I don’t want to play NASCAR GLOBALLY” Meaning racing a standard car with mostly standard engine and the use and employment of artificial means to keep racing close. Bravo Sergio Marchionne for the chose of words.
He doesn’t want to play fair either…
Yes, “he doesn’t want to play fair either” This time it is the illustrious Ross Brawn who is playing fair, unlike when he was wearing a different hat when the one managing the FIA and his buddy wanted to introduce engine rules and regulations that blatantly favored would be new entrants and also the introduction of a budget gap. it is incredible how wearing a new hat can change a man.
Yeah…what’s your actual point here?
That when Brawn was employed by Ferrari, he worked faithfully to further the objectives of Ferrari, and that now he’s employed by FOM he’s working faithfully to further the objectives of FOM?
I don’t actually have a problem with that. I don’t have a problem with teams trying to tilt the playing field in their favour. I do have a problem with the regulatory bodies colluding in tilting the playing field, which is what BCE recently claimed has happened on a routine basis in the past (which doesn’t mean that it’s true).
the regulatory body have nothing to do with what is being pushed out, what is being pushed out is by the commercial rights holders of F1 which have no right to make or change rules and regulations, the aim of which is not different from those before them “MILK F1 AS MUCH AS YOU CAN”.
What has that got to do with
> “he doesn’t want to play fair either”
or
> it is incredible how wearing a new hat can change a man.
?
What I’m asking (not very clearly) is, how is it unfair -in and of itself- that the promoter wants…to make money for the promoter?
If you’re claiming that the promoter is unfairly favouring some teams over others, I’m willing to be persuaded (and disgusted), but so far I’m just asking myself, where’s the beef?
I cannot see that the new rules mean a standard car with a standard engine.A couple more control components still leave plenty of room for development.Any rule at all could be construed as “artificial means to keep racing close”.Regurgitating Marchionne’s nonsense makes you sound ridiculous.
I think he has chosen to take issue with this so that when Liberty announce their new fairer income distribution model he can claim the tantrum he is throwing is not about the money.
Clearly they do not mean standard engines. People exaggerate.
No they do not mean standard engines, what they mean is standardize those parts of the PU that the plastic stickers producers doesn’t have neither the know-how nor the resources or the means to produce and compete with.
They have the know-how
everybody knows what their “know how is” from the last time Mosely helped them get a four team supply, everybody knows what AM “know how is” buying one engine make after another to make their car move on wheels, everybody knows and remembers the catpissinacan BS about their building 9 so/so level under ground taking a Renault F1 engine block and build it up with Illen heads/fuel system and RB ERS system.
I am sure someone will understand what you are saying, but I don’t have a clue
standard answer when it is not what I would like to hear.
No, sometimes your comments make no sense but if that is what you want to say then I let you say it…
liberty’s new fairer income distribution model is all about how much better they can milk F1 then the once before them did.
Starting to sound like a certain orange-faced tiny-hands halfwit gobshite from the world of politics, isn’t he?
Are Liberty truly ready to see Ferrari leave, or has the negotiation session only begun?
Maybe Toto wants to start a new series? What is it exactly that he and Maurizio chat about in the Ferrari motorhome?
You miss the point. They know that Ferrari will not leave if it is a question of logic. If it is down to ego, then he will get what he deserves.
“If it is down to ego, then he will get what he deserves.”
I would suspect the tiofossi will gladly deliver that verdict and it wont be protect Ferrari from F1\Liberty, it will be protect him from the consequences of his deeply unpopular actions. It will be like telling the hard core fans we no longer participate in the Olympics, we are going to the local middle school sports day. Look how much money I am saving you! If Ferrari really do go, it will be a very unpopular move in Italy. As negotiating positions go, actually leaving will see him out of a job well before they leave F1!
you miss the point, F1 without Ferrari is a second-tier utterly boring series…
Tosh. Pharaohs come, pharaohs go
Lotus used to be a name to rival Ferrari, they’re gone and forgotten. Same with Brabham and Tyrrell. McLaren-Honda are a shadow of their former selves, as are Williams. Mercedes and Red Bull have only been around for a few years but have passionate fans and McLaren and Williams would soon be forgotten if they closed up shop. If Ferrari withdrew, they would soon be forgotten too.
I don’t like Ferrari and I think Liberty should call their bluff, but Ferrari’s brand recognition would barely dip if they left F1. People are fans of the team because of their road cars and not the other way around. The truth is “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” is no longer applicable. Just say the name Ferrari and u can get non-car people to attend events centered around them.
However, it would be still be stupid for Ferrari to leave when whatever the deal ends up being will likely result in F1 still being profitable if they’re anywhere in the top 4 or 5.
“People are fans of the team because of their road cars and not the other way around.”
I live in Japan. Ferrari have an army of fans here, but, from what I can tell, many of them don’t drive because they are young and can’t afford any kind of car. When they are older, a few of them will be wealthy enough to buy sportscars, but most Ferrari fans seem to be F1 fans, not car fans. Vettel is a superstar here, as was Shumacher 20 years ago (and Verstappen now). Ferrari have an image of glamour and excitement built on F1, the road car business is marketed on that image, not vice-versa. I suspect other Asian markets are similar.
Great article Joe, just hope Ferrari senior management read it. Their attitude towards the press and TV is beyond contemptuous.
Marchionne proclaimed that “F1 has been part of our DNA since the day we were born” which rather contradicts the history of Ferrari. GP racing was considered less important than sports car racing until the late 1960s, at earliest.
It may be crass to compare Enzo Ferrari with the company’s current management, but in the 1950s a withdrawal threat preceded a restructuring of the team or a new model. Do the current bunch have something up their sleeves?
My thoughts exactly. If Ferrari was to leave F1, of course they would be missed, just as have many other teams, drivers and tracks but the truth is the sport moved on and they all became part of its heritage to be remembered nostalgically between the races we continued to watch.
Every era has its stars but every era, however long it lasts. must also come to end. F1 is undoubtedly moving into a new era and I have every confidence it will be a successful one. From choice, I would like Ferrari, as well as other benchmark teams like Mercedes and Red Bull to stay and be part of it but, if they all decide to leave, the closeness of the of the current midfield plus the opportunities afforded by cheaper participation and more equitable distribution of revenue suggest the alternative would be far from unpalatable. It might even make for closer racing and with so many races in a season it would take only a few months for new stars to dominate the headlines, which is perhaps a little sad – but fortunately true.
Let them go. They seem a bit rotten from the top down now with childish, petulant rants from CEO to driver. And why on earth do they retain Kimi when he seems miserable and is certainly past his best.
I think it says it all that Marchionne is quoted as saying he would “feel like a million bucks” if he were the CEO to take Ferrari out of F1.
That is not passion, that is typical of the bean-counting culture prevalent in some of today’s most miseable corporations. This is not the team of Enzo Ferrari.
And yes, if they aren’t even willing to play ball with the media (and through them the fans) then will they really be missed? They can still wave the red flags at Monza in memory of what the spirit of the team once was.
The distinct engines argument Marchionne is putting forward is complete codswallop. The rules proposed don’t mean all engines are the same, yet I’m sure some blind followers will eat up every word andcry about single make series. This really is just the excuse for quitting before next weeks meetings where the revenue distribution plan comes out, after all it’s bad PR to say you’re quitting because you can’t win if you only have the same amount of money to spend as everyone else.
There was a time when Ferrari was important to F1, but I think times have changed. The new fans engage through social media and Ferrari are quite frankly useless there. Teams like Force India,Renault & Mercedes have gained a great number of fans because their social media engages and entertains the fans beyond actual race results.
It’s very strange. Since I was a child I have always loved Ferrari’s road cars and yet I have really struggled to ever like their F1 team, even when Nige was driving for them.
F1 is finally trying to head in the right direction. Winning should be defined by engineers and drivers, not budgets.
Although I don’t agree with Ferrari’s sentiment I can understand where Renault/Mercedes are coming from. They seem to be saying that the engine regs aren’t necessarily bad, but neither will they be cheap. Yes it’s a v6 turbo still but internals spinning faster and no mapped hybrid to fill in gaps in the torque curve really are going to mean starting from scratch. However, given what FOM want to achieve I don’t know how they could carry through components of the current engine either. I can see the first 2 years of new engine regs being painful both in terms of gaps and reliability.
My biggest concern though as an F1 fan is how they are going to manage the aero war. Firstly finding a way to shape rules that means cars can follow each other without losing ridiculous levels of downforce., then tackling how much the teams can spend on aero gains. After all the engines are a fixed cost for most teams, budgets get blown by aero development. I like the idea of race winning cars being torn down with fans and other teams able to view all developments.
It means teams could catch up quicker and may also limit how much a team is willing to spend on a development if it’s only going to be secret for one race.
‘If Ferrari is mad enough to leave F1, it will get what it deserves….sorry if this sounds harsh’…….. Joe; this doesn’t sound in the least bit harsh to me and, I suspect, more than a few others. Over the years, I’ve really admired some of the legends that have driven for the Scuderia; Villeneuve, Alesi both of whom seemed happy to race and didn’t require team orders or a lawyer’s contract for assistance. They’ve provided some great moments (Monza 88 being my personal favourite). I’ve steadily grown to dislike team Ferrari over the past near-two decades for all sorts of reasons to the extent that I personally, wouldn’t be disappointed to see them leave F1. They’ve always seemed to feel that F1 couldn’t survive without them. Well, nothing could be further from the truth in my view. I for one, would shed no tears…
This time around, both Formula One and Ferrari are publicly listed companies. Investor pressure to sort this out will be way larger than any of the egos involved. Though Ferrari sees SUVs (FUVs?) as part of their growth strategy so maybe racing not so important!
Are you anywhere near Le Castellet Joe? An eye witness account of the preparations being made to get the circuit ready for F1 next year would be super interesting, but only if you’re passing anyway 🙂
The process of getting a circuit up to F1 standards must be a fascinating and complex one I’m sure.
I live in Paris
Actually, there is very little – if any – work required beyond adding extra seating, catering and toilets.
The track has been used for racing car testing for years, and so has been kept to F1 specification, with wide, high-traction asphalt run-offs and lots of TecPro barriers (they were tested here too.)
It even has Bernie’s dream of a sprinkler system that can drench the whole circuit – not too surprising since he’s owned it for years.
However, what will need to be addressed are the roads leading to the circuit – it sits on a plateau, and all the approaches are up-hill single-carriageway.
If F leaves F1 it’s not going to be LM who look like fools in the years to come.
I’m sure the cloth-cappers will enjoy watching them get beaten by Ginetta…
It’s very to believe Marchionne is making idle threats.
…very hard to believe…
Why? Enzo did it on a regular basis.
Ask a lion…or a young lady!
BTW, at the safari park, did you get to see the cheetahs? They are especially spectacular at night with their huge reflective eyes.
The Tifosi would have Marchionne’s effigy hanging from lamp posts like Mussolini if he dared to withdraw Ferrari from F1.
La Stampa would destroy his image.
Still we only have to hang on another year until he is due to retire.
Retire from FCA… not from Ferrari
I don’t believe that it was the Tifosi who were responsible for that.
I gather that it was my late father-in-law.
I agree with everything you said. No matter who’s in charge at Ferrari, the quit threat always comes right on cue. It must be imbedded in their “culture”. However, if they were to quit, I would be less likely to watch Formula One, because in spite of all their flaws, I still like seeing red cars on a race track from a team based in Italy.
I was 16 when Enzo Ferrari threatened to withdraw his cars. What a terrible loss. He and his heirs have not done it yet and I will be 87 later this month. They had best get a move on if they need me to be unhappy.
I was still in grammar school tho it must have been second year sixth in my 18th year but Ferrari was sulking very early in his second career as a car builder in his own name. It is still a long time to sulk and I am glad that Joe’s young air crew is too busy to sulk like that.
Enzo Ferrari himself regularly threatened to pull his team from F1, but F1 made the brand and the Old Man obviously loved the sport.He could be nasty and manipulative but that love of the sport let fans ignore his personal qualities.
Sergio Marchionne, not so much. Ferrari is a worldwide brand already and no longer ‘needs’ F1 and Mr. Marchionne is only in love with the bottom line. I take his threat very seriously. F1 have lost Tyrrell , Lotus and Brabham and they have been replaced. Ferrari are not so easily replaced.
Exactly Joe. You can cry wolf only so many times. People said F1 wouldn’t survive without the original Lotus.
For the time, i agree that Ferrari should leave Formula 1 for the benefit of the sport and the fans in general. I’m quite tired of that snobish attitude towards the Medias and the sport itself. Get rid of that red team and F1 will be better with more equal share of income.
This snobish attitude is not recent because I remember the Jean Todt’s period. I can’t remember a good and honest interview with Todt during his days at Ferrari.
Joe so do you think we will end with engines post 2020.? Surely a new engine would cause the same vicious circle of we’ve had in the past where the competition is distorted and one team dominates . The proposed change is just change for change sake. To allow racing close up regulations need to be stable for a good 5-10 years . When will F1 learn.
This is the aim
Where do liberty stand with the fabled Ferrari veto, I assume as there is no contract after 2020 there is no veto?
Why should Ferrari have a veto? This is a sport.
I agree they shouldn’t but over the years it keeps coming up. I really hope that liberty stand up and push the changes especial to the money side of the sport. I’d love to see the less well off teams putting together strong cars. Imagine force India with a few million more to spend or Williams back on form. Now that would make for great racing.
If it’s a franchise it isn’t a sport, and vice-versa.
A sport is open to new competitors, it isn’t a closed shop.
I’m you on this one Joe. Marchionne ain’t no Enzo and he never carried out his threat. I think the shareholders may have something to say about it too…
Well said Joe. It’s nice to be reminded every now and then why I instinctively have no sympathy for them.
Joe, how are Ferrari closing themselves off to the media? Or more specifically how do teams open up or discuss things with you?
As a fan I see what’s reported on websites and if an interview is aired on TV. But information you reveal or that gets mentioned in things like Teds notebook. Where does that come from?
They are completely closed. In fact they barely exist. They don’t bother with anything. So, nor do we…
“If FERRARI is mad enough to leave F1 it will get what it deserves. if that sounds harsh”.
No it doesn’t sounds harsh at all, in fact it sounds full of love for anything to do with FERRARI.
Sergio Marchionne would be torn apart in Italy if he pulled Ferrari out of F1.
In the law of the jungle, Ferrari gets the largest slice of the $$$ cake. And, btw, lyons don’t give a damn about sympathy.
Truly a fine piece Joe.
Guess the downside is you won’t get a Christmas card from team Fezza this year…..:-)
I can live with it.
an excellent verdict Joe! a bit brutal but 100% spot on. I just wonder – seem that Brawn & Co tried to please FIA and OEMs as much as possible when penciling these new proposals with not making them too radically different from existing ones. And OEMs still are not happy. So what if they say alright, you still don’t like our ideas so let’s scrap all that your road relevance altogether and go v12s, h16s, i4s or whatever and one can leave if they want so, let’s go back to bare racing and bin all those politics for once
maybe F1 is too expensive for british teams, esp. when considering they were coming and leaving every now and then. they should setup their own series for which they have proper fundings and leave the top league alone…
What a lot of tosh
What a ill informed comment. It can easily be put that Ferrari should setup it’s own series and watch itself finish second. That with the fact that they would have to supply ALL the cars and no one was watching. Theres a money maker Sergio.
The top league as you say is doing just fine, losing Ferrari would not just allow another team to finish second or third or…where ever Ferrari will finish next year.
Alonso’s leaving Ferrari doesn’t so bad now, going to a team with a Honda was maybe not so smart.
Bye Bye Ferrari, see u you in Indy car.
Actually, I’d love to see that. Not the second tier series with McLaren, Mercedes (née BAR), Red Bull (née Stewart), Williams, Force India (née Jordan) and Renault (née Toleman).
No, I want to see the excitement of the top tier teams. Ferrari, and Haas, and Sauber, and Toro Rosso, and.. no, that’s all of them. It’s going to have all the passion, intrigue and unpredictability of the 2005 US Grand Prix, every race. It’s going to be awesome.
And Haas and Toro Rosso are basically based in Britain anyway! 🙂
Umm, what teams are you talking about? Ferrari and Sauber?
Ultimately if Ferrari are only prepared to take part on unequal terms then, much as I would vastly prefer to have them remain, they’re welcome to spend $100m a year or whatever is their net spend on F1 on TV and lads’ mags ads instead.
That said, it does appear to be just pre-negotiation posturing. Although we’ve seen what can happen when delusional, posturing egomaniacs who lack the intelligence or self-awareness to avoid becoming victims of their own propaganda gain power.
I wonder if Liberty Media’s head honchos are starting to regret ushering Bernie into the cupboard under the stairs yet.
No they are not. They are quite happy without him.
You are totally right, Joe – first things go first.
Sounds like a very nice granddaughter!
I’m praying Ferrari leave ‘the show’ and join a real race series. Maybe take McLaren and Renault with them. Image the WEC with these guys and Toyota-and-whoever.
Yeah, sure, the modern F1 fan wouldn’t be interested, which can only be a positive. FE will replace F1 within the next ten years anyway. It’s a more honest ‘show’ than F1 is planning to be.
A new 312PB? Real team racing? On real racetracks? What’s not to love?
All of it
Formula E will replace F1? hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
It’s a nice tax write off and green credential story for companies and that is about it.
It will also cease to be a “show” once all the manufacturers join and open their chequebooks.
Bravo, this mantra needs to be repeated week-in, week-out.
Since he has been gone for almost 30 years, it took them awhile to find Enzo’s book of threats and excuses! I wonder when they will trot out the old one about “strikes”?
Some previous Ferrari bosses may have made idle threats to quit but I am not sure I would tar Marchionne with that brush as I think he is a ruthless operator. He and possibly Mercedes may be drawing a line in the sand. Neither want simplified PUs and both want to be able to used their technical abilities to gain advantage. I won’t predict which way it will go and Mercedes and Ferrari might be unlikely bedfellows but I think the threats should not be lightly dismissed as in the past. If Renault were to join an exodus then all bets would be off and Liberty would be up the dark coloured creek!
It will not happen.
Sergio Marchionne I would think doesn’t have last say in this does he? I would think the Fiat family would say something.
It’s their train set. He just drives the trains.
Thanks
Joe,
It looks like you’re the latest victim of alonsofication…
I have no idea what that means, but I’m not a great follower of Alonso. Great driver, but has some issues…
I can see Marchionne thinks he’s quite smart but I can’t help wondering why he keeps saying things which will make him look stupid within a very short time.
Joe. it is funny how a clever man like you can be naive. F1 is only about money. If Ferrari wins F1 world has more money becouse much more people buys this product, they love to see Ferrari winning. Thats why any promoter of F1 gives them more money and FIA listen when writting the rules. Liberty era will be the same 🙂
I’m not naive at all. Ferrari doesn’t win, unless people from outside Italy run the team. Sad, but true for the last 40 years.
Because Forghieri was not Italian? C’mon. Give it a break.
Sorry to ruin your day but Forghieri was 40 years ago.
Binotto may not have won the championship, but he did a lot better than the exulted Allison did before him, despite your predictions of a Ferrari implosion, about 12months ago…..
The team did a better job than expected. Yes. But it still failed to win the title. In part this was down to Vettel, in part due to mechanical troubles. Given that it has a much bigger share of the prize money than any other team, one would expect a better performance. Let’s face it, an additional $70 million would help anyone, wouldn’t it? If you think this is fair then I am afarid you have a very skewed idea of what sport is.
Joe – my point had nothing to do with the $70m, but rather the notion that Ferrari can only win with a non-Italian at the helm. There are so many logical fallacies entrenched in that thinking, that I wouldn’t even know where to begin deconstructing the so-called argument. And before your start with the statistics; there is a long list of teams with British management that have not won a race, let alone a championship….. that doesn’t mean they can’t win unless non-Brits are running the team.
Facts are facts. Ferrari won under the management of Enzo Ferrari, Montezemolo, Audetto and Forghieri in the 1970s. Forghieri left in 1987, after four years without championship success. Ferrari died in 1988. Then there were a bunch of FIAT folk who achieved little: Claudio Lombardi, Cesare Fiorio etc. Todt arrived in 1993. It took him until 1999 to put together a championship winning team. Ferrari then won eight titles. After Todt moved on Ferrari has won no titles, so it is completely fair to say that Ferrari has not won a title under Italian management since 1983. Even then then chassis design was done from 1981 onwards by Harvey Postlethwaite and then John Barnard, so it is quite fair to say that Ferrari has not won a title under all-Italian management since the 1970s. In the Todt era, the chassis were designed by South African Rory Byrne, the engines by Gilles Simon (French) and the team was run by Ross Brawn. So where is your so-called argument?
I think the irony here is if the current advantage Ferrari enjoys financially were removed, I reckon they would perform better. They would be forced to lose their arrogance and really innovate.
Thanks for your wonderful work Joe, especially on the podcast, those guys do a marvelous job, well done on ending up there and thankyou for allowing me to discover them.
It’s getting so that you can always count on negative Ferrari coverage in this blog.
No, it’s getting that you can count on someone believing in fairness and sport
Well Ferrari gets to reap what they sow. If they are hostile to the media, physically aggressive with anyone who is unfortunate enough to accidentally get close to their cars on the grid and arrogant in their pronouncements of their own importance to F1, they don’t get friendly coverage do they? Nor should they. Blaming the journalists for providing a reflection of the negative energy Ferrari themselves put out is hardly dealing with the root cause of the problem.
The power behind the throne should upseat those who control Ferrari and introduce a more positive vibe to the team, then the media and fans will be able to love them again.
I frankly think people are missing the point, although I agree that the Ferrari threat is probably chimerical. What if Ferrari left and Mercedes declared…We’re not going to spend half a billion a year to race against an energy drink company. As for Renault, they don’t even sell cars in Mercedes’s biggest market, the U.S. Sorry guys, we’re outta here! Makes no sense. What I’m suggesting is that the Ferrari threat could have a ripple effect…
Ferrari is not Sauber; it is not Minardi; it is not Toro Rosso or even Williams; even Mercedes is not Ferrari in terms of F1 history and participation. Take this test: Ask the average person what a Ferrari is; then ask the average person what Formula 1 is. A blank stare from many, while the same would rush to a swoopy red car from Maranello parked at the curb. Wow!
Don’t kid yourself, folks. F1 minus Ferrari would be a DISASTER, And if Liberty were to engineer this they would be out on their asses in no time. Or should be.
Disclaimer: I have not been a Ferrari fan since Schumacher left. I’m a Max V. fan wherever he goes! But at least Red Bull has the good marketing sense to open up their lobby, and trophy cases, to visitors at their Milton Keynes facility…Most shut themselves off behind security fences and guard posts. F1 is not the invasion of Normandy, after all. Wake up, F1! Jesus! Some bloke snapping a pic of a 1980’s McLaren is not, I assure you, going to compromise your 2018 car’s security and secrets.
If the strategy group’s solution to today’s “problems” is to royally piss off its most important participant then I think, from a cold, calculating business standpoint, the “strategy group” needs to be sent out to pasture…Post-haste.
Have you not heard of Nissan and Infiniti?
The “average F1 fan” would tell you that Ferrari is red and Italian, that’s all. And the red belongs to Marlboro, Ferrari. The average F1 fan couldn’t tell you what type or size of motor they have. I would be sad to see them leave as its always good to have someone to love and hate in equal measures.
I don’t believe it will happen and am willing to wager Joe’s house on it! Is that ok with you Joe? I don’t bet either but on this occasion …
The red belongs to Italy actually…
@Eric Veil
Red Bull did get ram-raided for their trophies, soooo……..
The average person would also probably know that Toyota, Honda, Ford, Porsche, VW, and Mercedes were brands of car, but wouldn’t know which ones are involved in motorsports. Being a famous car company doesn’t make you indispensable to F1.
Do you really have to add the word “Jesus” to your post? Please show some respect.
Joe, can u please edit out such remarks?
No. I don’t have time. It’s common usage.
Common perhaps but sadly disrespectful.
I wonder if you’d find the time for some editing if someone was abusing the word “Mohammed “, for example.
Pity. I was beginning to enjoy this site but it’s goodbye from me.
Yes yes, I know: good riddance to me and you don’t care.
Use your brain. If I have 200 comments a day and it takes me two minutes to deal with each one, that is 400 minutes. Divide that by 60 and you get six hours and 20 minutes. When am I supposed to earn money??
Thanks Joe for the concise as-it-is appraisal.. I just wrote this on the same topic on JAonF1… applies here so I’ll repeat it again..
Ferrari have been rolling out this ‘play ball or we quit’ rhetoric for years and personally I’m sick of hearing it. They need to be kicked into touch once and for all and now is the time for the new owners of the sport to draw some lines. I hope they do so; the sport will keep going without Ferrari, can you imagine the papers headline?
FERRARI QUIT F1 !! or Prancing Horse Prances out !!
It’d not be a good move for any brand and I doubt they would do it.
If Liberty bend to Maranello now they set the expectations and will be forever beholden to their expectations.
The fans will not respect such an outcome, and I hope Brawn is in there with some advisory on how to proceed.
Here’s hoping…
Additionally, the petulant flouncing we’ve seen from their No 1 driver this years is alarmingly compatible with the superior arrogance the management seems to carry, particularly to the Media who are the voice of the sport.
Bazaar is one way of describing this shortsighted attitude..
Thanks Joe. Spot on and exceptionally well written. Ferrari are pathetic and hypocrites. Wanting to be the best but wanting an unfair advantage. What would anyone say to a petulant child behaving the same way?
The following of any sport or competition that is, even partially, rigged and unfair will never flourish.
I was interested to read that Newey was contacted about heading Ferrari’s Indycar program back in the 80s. On the subject of Ferrari and special treatment I’d happily put Mosely on trial for corruption in regard to his running of the FIA. You’d think he was on Ferrari’s pay roll the way he behaved. He must have truly despised Ron Dennis, the question is why?
It’s quite obvious what you feel in regards Ferrari and I’d imagine that the majority of British media feels the same – it’s a viewpoint that has been part of F1 for decades.
But I’ve also read that F1 lives in a bubble where they believe the world circulates around the F1 circus. The days of Ferrari racing because it’s the essence of their life blood have passed unfortunately; with Enzo’s passing and to an extent his successor, LdM being ousted.
Bernie understood the power of Ferrari, as witnessed whenever he made deals to keep them onside. But ultimately the real world won’t give two hoots on Ferrari being in F1.
The real world includes millions of Americans and Chinese who covet the Prancing horse without knowing anything about Eff Wan???
I remember reading a story in a publication years ago about Michael Schumacher and Jos Verstappen on holiday in America with their families. They went to drive at a NASCAR track and queued up to take a drive around the circuit with other members of the paying public. Not one person recognised the multiple champion and he was even asked if he’d ever driven a car at speed…
Perhaps what’s most galling of all is this attitude that Ferrari is alone in all this. Mercedes have spoken of leaving the sport of the engine rule were not conducive to them and similarly Renault have made noises in regards their business model.
Cripes, RBR have been making threats to quit for a few years now because of their arrogant attitude towards their engine supplier. Yet nobody truly reports this.
Today, on a sports radio station, they spoke of Ferrari quitting F1 if they didn’t get their way. No mention that Mercedes and Renault weren’t happy either. What happened to balance??
Ultimately Marchionne is right, if F1 becomes a spec series like NASCAR, Indy etc then I’d be switching off myself even if Ferrari were to remain. Formula E, rallying and endurance racing do little to hold my attention.
I would spend my money on historic racing where the smell and sounds of the cars is tangible.
What with putting the sport behind a paywall F1’s lost sight of its soul. We are slowly watching F1 become as grey as Ron’s dreams!
No. I think the concept of Ferrari is good. But I hate the sense of entitlement and the arrogance. If you want respect, earn it. Otherwise it’s just bull.
Spot on. I would delight in their being asked at every opportunity on live tv the very questions/statements you pose, ala “Built-in advantage and you stillll can’t win…??” They and their self-styled mythic importance are from some earlier feudal time. Hope they do depart. Can sleep with their pride alone as the song goes.
If they cut costs they need to do it by either a very little bit or a lot. There should be no middle ground. The middle ground will just provide an excuse for some of the manufacturers to leave while not being enough to entice a number of new entrants.
Threatening to quit? In the sixties and seventies Enzo regularly issued this sort of threat although it always came a time when the team was underperforming. Has Marchionne been spending too long in Enzo’s office absorbing the vibe?
And if Ferrari leave and start up another series, I’m sure some of the other teams would follow. Who would then sponsor what would be F1.
Think of the FA premiership, if Utd, Liverpool, City started a northern breakaway league, I’m sure others would follow. Check out how many Ferrari fans are at the next gp, then think of how expensive current tickets are. Then think of a race series, with Ferrari in it, at race tracks where entry is cheap, and the money is distributed to the teams and circuits, and not to a pension fund. Then F1 would be in trouble. Be careful what you wish for!!!
Who would watch another series?
Close racing at many great tracks with cheap tickets, free to air tv, think you would find many fans would watch.
Look at what the champions league has done for football, most teams are not fussed if there team does win the premier league, as long as they qualify for the champions league, i.e finish in the top 4.
A rival championship within the easy reach of families budgets would hurt F1 quite a bit especially with the draw of Ferrari, and if they did leave F1, you can bet Merc and maybe others would follow suit
Jonathan, with all due respect to you, sir, stop and think logically for a moment. Do you honestly, truly, wholeheartedly believe that Ferrari would invest the money and time necessary to:
1. Negotiate with tracks for race dates, ticket prices, etc.
2. Negotiate with other teams for the costs of entry to the “Ferrari Series” and which car manufacturer would race in a series named and run by Ferrari
3. Negotiate with tv providers for coverage and cost of play
4. Negotiate with sponsors for a race series not race car
5. Negotiate with x for y
Again, as Joe says, think logically, Ferrari don’t wish to negotiate, they wish to dictate. Even if you honestly think they will do all of the above and the many more items needed to create a race series, the costs involved in doing all this will quickly be reaped through their high costs to fans, tv prices to pay-to-air companies, etc., because it is what they know. They would operate just as did CVC/Bernie. Old dogs do NOT learn new tricks.
I believe there would be many many promoters who would take this on. I am only using this as an example. I don’t believe Ferrari would quit. But, again, look at football. All that talk of a European breakaway league, it never materialised, but the champions league is pretty much that dressed up differently.
Spot on.
Joe, with your prodigious memory and extensive knowledge of F1 can you recall ANY time when teams said ‘yes, we like those rule changes – exactly what we want!’? I for one can’t remember anything other than negative comments, threats and protests every single time rules have changed or even just proposed changes have been announced …
In my formative years as an F1 fan it was Renault and McLaren and Brabham and Lotus and Williams. The ’80s was a golden era for the sport and you wouldn’t really have noticed if Ferrari hadn’t been there. I wouldn’t miss them now either, although I know they have a lot of fans.
Regardless, I firmly believe that F1 has to be an elite sport to be successful, not a show. And to be an elite sporting competition it must have a level playing field. If some participants decide that fair competition would render the sport no longer viable for them, well, yes, better to leave then. But don’t expect your customers to keep believing for long that you offer a product which reflects a great racing heritage.
Past glories are soon forgotten – nobody who buys a Bentley, Alfa Romeo or Jaguar today is doing so because they think it is the best grand prix racing brand, and I doubt that these brands could credibly offer a Ferrari road car alternative now. Yet McLaren has demonstrated that they can. To a significant extent, Ferrari inherited their leadership position as a sportscar manufacturer because of the retirement from top level racing of Jaguar and Mercedes, and they should keep this in mind.
> In my formative years as an F1 fan it was Renault and McLaren and Brabham and Lotus and Williams. The ’80s was a golden era for the sport and you wouldn’t really have noticed if Ferrari hadn’t been there.
+1. I remember years that I genuinely believed in the run up to Australia that any one of those six could lift the Championship. And they weren’t even close years on paper as it turned out; but it didn’t matter so much because success in one year didn’t mean that those other five teams might not catch you up and overhaul you by the following year. Or even part way through it.
Nice article, Joe.
Through work, or an inability to follow a season if I missed the beginning where all the drivers are announced, I missed a couple of years, here and there, so I am not really sure how A1GP played out, but the fact that teams threatening to leave F1 led to A1GP, and that series is a footnote in history whilst F1 is going and has a bunch of teams, does go a long way to making me not worry too much about such threats when they come along.
Ferrari are the only team that I will entertain such vocalisations from.
When Red Bull tried it, my attitude always was, “**** off, you’re not Ferrari.”
Threatening my sport though, always alienates me to whomever is making the threat, so Marchionne, go on then, see if I care.
It always seemed to me the “value” of Ferrari in F1 was as BE’s stalking horse disrupting unity within the teams/manufacturers.
Thanks for the article Joe. Another season nearly over and your contribution much appreciated.
Why are Ferrari allowed to retain cigarette company sponsorship?
The branding on the car is fairly obvious even without the barcode that was removed a few years ago and it must work for the sponsor as they will know how much brand awareness they are getting for their money.
Isn’t there something in the rules about bring the sport into disrepute?
Because one can still sell cigarettes using F1 in different ways
I’d hate to see Ferrari leave F1…. But F1 is bigger than any one team, and that includes Ferrari.
I’m confident that Liberty know that their interests are best served by creating a series that is sustainable for the the next 60 years. Referencing the glories of the past, but not enslaved by past glories.
By moving the focus back towards the drivers, creating a series where the drivers are heroes, achieving feats that we as mortals can never imagine achieving ourselves.
I think that Liberty should outline their proposals. If Ferrari complain and threaten to quit then Liberty should exclude them from future negotiations, sit down with the other teams and between them develop a sporting formula that is both a spectacle for fans and commercially sustainable for ALL teams. Then, once the proposals have been agreed, allow Ferrari a ‘take it or leave it’ choice to continue in F1.
Ferrari, as much as I like them, must not be allowed to simply dictate terms that will prevent competition between the teams and reduce the spectacle of racing.
Great response
Harsh words Joe… But fair.
Ferrari have been priveligied and handed an unfair advantage for far too long. It’s ridiculous that have a veto and think they can hold the sport to ransom.
Liberty/FOM/FIA or whoever the frig is in charge of that bit really ought to once call the bluff.
Because ultimately Ferrari are afraid. They’re afraid that if they had to compete on equal terms with a Force India that they’d loose. And for good reason too, for they bloody well would loose.
A lot of the usual myopic Ferrari bashing on here but I’ve come to expect it during the 6 months or so since I discovered this site. I even subscribed to GP Plus to get access to the inside stories! I’m still waiting.
I’ve seen a far more balanced view of the latest “quit threat” on Pitpass, still one of the best free websites around whether they go to Grand Prix’s or not. Marchionne’s comments are put in context along with the mention that Liberty Media aren’t some benevolent organisation working for the good of all Grand Prix teams and that Mercedes, Renault and Red Bull will put their interests first, not just Ferrari.
Joe, are you just throwing some red Ferrari meat out there and relying on ignorance to get like-minded comments? You have a chip on your shoulder when it comes to Ferrari – does it stem from the fact they won’t talk to you? Thirty plus years as an F1 Insider and you haven’t been able to cultivate one reliable source within Maranello? I’m not surprised they don’t engage with you. Most of the British Motorsport articles I saw in the late 80’s and 90’s spoke the gospel according to Ron (Ferrari bad, others good.) I don’t recall many positive articles whether they were winning or losing, there was always a negative spin.
If you delight in ignoring them so much, why not do so in your blog?
Which of the 2014 rules that Ferrari apparently organised benefitted them against Mercedes? When the FIA rule against Ferrari it is barely acknowledged (and there have been some this year alone) it is not acknowledged or reported on sites such as yours – not in your interest? When they are seen to benefit, such as recently with Verstappen (surely if the FIA wanted Ferrari to win it would have been Hamilton with some form of penalty) it is proof of bias. Law of the Jungle – more like Law of the Play Ground.
I have said it many times but obviously you don’t get it. An accusation of bias is an insult. Secondly, you should have bought GP+ as a magazine about each race. If you want insight of the kind you suggest, you should buy JSBM. They are different products for different markets. Still, that’s complicated to understand. Thirdly, if you think that you get insight from the website you mention you should learn more about it. Anyway, feel free not to bother me again.
Believe me, I’m not ignorant and Joe is speaking the truth.
This is tricky, because I am about to put a (somewhat) counter view. So before plunging in, may I say that the original article by Joe was something I endorse just about 100%. The same applies to the vast majority of subsequent comments. I am known (notorious?) among my (F1) peer group as a fierce Ferrari critic. The Scuderia has long been second rate and its glory periods have tended to coincide with fortune falling into its lap. 1952-3 when the World Championship was in effect for F2 cars and the competition was non-existent, 1956 – the Lancia ‘gift’, 1961, when the British ‘garagistes’ dropped the ball, 1964, when Surtees (briefly) injected some common sense, more common sense from Lauda in the mid-70s, then, of course, the Todt/Brawn, Byrne/Schumacher/Marlboro millions era.
I am critical, too, of many of The Scuderia’s acolytes. Their infatuation with the team seems so frequently to be characterised by a simplistic dewy-eyed and poorly informed understanding of history. That said, there appear to be lots of them (although not, perhaps, interacting with this blog!) and that is significant, like it or not.
I don’t know whether Sergio Marchionne is driven by logic or hysteria but if his threat has traction, it will be because Liberty Media has spent up big on a volatile investment. The F1 business model is high risk, it faces strong competition (not necessarily from within motor racing) and it requires reliable and high level continuity of support (read, money!) from advertisers and sponsors. As they, along with the FIA and the teams, frame the rules, they cannot afford to risk killing this golden goose.
I suspect that some people, from within the F1 bubble, perceive that F1 as a product, is somehow invulnerable. I think that is not necessarily the case… which is why, accidentally or otherwise, Marchionne’s threat may have some firepower.
Once more, to reduce the inevitable inbound ordnance, I would not lament the disappearance of Ferrari, nor a sharp lesson in reality for them, but as ever, it’s the numbers that do the talking and I think Liberty has to tread a careful path if it is to make its investment pay.
If one looks at the current FIAT/Chrysler model mix, I’m still not entirely convinced…
Ferrari is an entry point into F1, and an important one. If you don’t know what it is all about, you can buy a cap with a horse on and instantly become part of the sport. I firmly beleive however that when fans take time to understand the sport and it’s stakeholders, Ferrari becomes far less of a draw.
Plus, I hate the basic inequality the team insists on within the sport.
I will continue to drool over V12 scarlett racers from various eras ’66-’95, the team can do what it wants. If they value the sport so little – Bye! Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
First time I agree with 100% of one of Joe’s articles. Absolutely SPOT-ON. This special treatment both monetary and otherwise is an indictment of Ferrari as a team and company that they can’t even win more when given an unfair advantage every year. Like others have said, great names have left before and F1 is still here, and will be if Ferrari leaves (which I don’t think they ever will until they drop to mid-field or below).
Ahhh still the Ferrari rant joe?
No one wants to see a Renault beating a RedBull. They want to beat Ferrari…there is value there. You can rant al you want, but it is just the way it is. Just like people like to see Real or Barca and not Mallorca.
You name the english teams…all forgotten because they were not the most succesful team and build dreamcars… redbull in the end of the day makes disgusting lemonade. Ferrari builds dreams…..no other team or brand has that in that amount….look at the shares for example.
Most WCC in the sport…the english do not even come close. Sorry about that…maybe a bit harsh.
Looking forward to read the next Ferrari rant!
Maybe you should do one on mclaren…ooh right they are (were) english and now have owners from the middle east, just like the rest of the english automotive sector.
No it’s not a Ferrari rant. It’s called sport. They don’t get it. Not do you apparently…
Ferrari builds cars for rich wankers with small appendages. Builds dreams. Maybe for those with no imagination.