Will Ferrari's communication director ever stop moaning?

[horse]

Story on Autosport:

"This is the outcome: two teams will limp into the start of the championship, a third is being pushed into the ring by an invisible hand – you can be sure it is not the hand of Adam Smith – and, as for the fourth, well, you would do better to call on Missing Persons to locate it.

"In the meantime, we have lost two constructors along the way, in the shape of BMW and Toyota, while at Renault, there's not much left other than the name. Was it all worth it?"

Ferrari's criticism of the new teams situation is not new, with the Italian outfit having claimed back in May last year that F1 would perhaps be better off rebranding itself as 'Formula GP3' if the grid became full of the new outfits who had originally lodged entries early last year.

Link to story.

I just can't help but be left with the feeling that Ferrari have now lost any sporting credibility they once had. Opposition to new entries is ridiculous IMO. They seem to want F1 to be a pure marketing exercise with little disruption or entertainment, solely for the benefit of FIAT. I agree that the fire out of which the new teams have been born was not well managed, but the principle of removing barriers to entry is sound.

I am almost starting to believe an F1 free of Ferrari would be a good thing. And then they can have their own series just populated by Ferraris racing against each other. Then they couldn't possibly lose and they could set all of the rules.

EDIT: Changed title in order to separate the racing team from D' Management.

[WhiteBlue]

I did not think to open a dedicated thread to Montezemolo's moanings. With hindsight it looks like a good idea. We will no doubt have a lot of material over the seasons to fill it.

Perhaps you can widen the issue a bit to include the more ludicrous screw ups by the red team like not having tyres for the pit stop of one of their drivers.

We also may see some innovative team orders completely go wrong. "Bulk, we know this is only Australia, but you have to let Fernando pass for the championship."

And then we will surely revisit the issue of how unfair it is that Fisichella, Badoer and Gene cannot be fielded in a third, fourth and fifth Ferrari.

[gibells]

But you have to admit the team selection was a joke. Almost as if Max looked for the least credible teams available for selection. I sure am not a Ferrari fan, but on this point, they are right. USF1 is a jk and from what Kolles has said about Campos, their is little more substance there as well.

66% of the original selected teams are nowhere to be seen.

The whole thing was a ploy to get the FOTA teams to commit to F1 over the breakaway.

[ISLAMATRON]

Bullshit... who is to say any of the other selections would have been any better? Toyota & BMW had grid slots and where are they now?

Prodrive was given a slot a couple years ago(when the financial situation was much better) and never fielded a car.

Any speculation that any other teams selected would have been more successful is just that... pure speculation.

Campos & USF1 are suffering mainly from money problems... tell me who isnt in this day and age?

Luca is just an asshole, 10X worse than Max ever was...

birds fly upside down over Luca's head cause he aint even worth shitting on.

[horse]

I did not think to open a dedicated thread to Montezemolo's moanings. With hindsight it looks like a good idea. We will no doubt have a lot of material over the seasons to fill it.

I'm personally of the opinion that this man is indicative of what people don't like about the politics of F1. It's what he argues for that continues to amaze me, which is always to the sole benefit of Ferrari and Ferrari alone. That's his job I suppose, but he has to learn that F1 does not belong to Ferarri, even if they spend the most on it. The FIA need to listen carefully to what he says and then do the exact opposite. I feel sorry for the racing team, which, as we all know, remains an asset to F1.

I'm having such a rant. Sorry about this.

But you have to admit the team selection was a joke.

Oh, yes, it's a total farce, as were the time scales to bring them to the grid. I'm still of the belief, however, that F1 needs some turnover and needs to be sustainable in some sense.

[Fil]

Whilst i'm no fan of Ferrari at all, i found the Ferrari editorial to be quite humorous and a great summary of exactly where F1 is at this stage. I can't find a single lie in the piece. And it ends in a question that can only truly be answered by season's end at the earliest.

I think its brilliant!



The one thing i do admire of Ferrari, is that it acts not as a large corporate entity, worried about embarrassing its board of directors & shareholders, but tells it like it sees it.

We complain of drivers not saying what they think due to corporate pressure, and loved Kimi for being different, yet Ferrari gets bashed for doing exactly what we wanted.. we're a hard to please bunch it seems!

[Hangaku]

I have just read this article on the Ferrari website, and came here straight away to read the musings! Glad that I wasn't let down

Di Montezemolo has written this article himself then? I didn't see any credit for it.

I find it rather amusing really, that a company such as Ferrari will openly call Stefan GP "Vultures". Sure, some of us think it, but surely Ferrari should have a modicum of modesty in their public writings? It makes them look like a bunch of cry-babies.

Also, did anybody else read "Bernie Ecclestone", when they read "white knight", making reference to his hair?

[Fil]

I find it rather amusing really, that a company such as Ferrari will openly call Stefan GP "Vultures".

Vultures circle, awaiting the imminent death of their prey right..?

Is that not what Stefan GP are doing? I think its very fitting.. and i'm one of those wanting Stefan GP to gain a license for 2010.

[carvetia]

I see we've taken to drowning out Luca's moaning with the sound of our own. I'm by no means a Ferrari fan but i'd rather have politics where people say what they think, and show their personality, as opposed to the dull, everything-is-always-fine side-stepping of any issues that might be even the slightest bit volatile. F1 is as much about the people as the cars, and i feel teams like McLaren and their drivers have already had the last bit of personality sucked out of them to be replaced with a purposefully inoffensive silver corporate facade, incapable of having an opinion.

But of course, it's understandable with so much sponsorship money at stake.

I was really hoping the introduction of the new teams would add some much needed charisma to the sport, bring in some new characters and generally just liven things up a bit. Shame it's mostly descended into farce or irrelevance. However i'm still hopeful that Virgin can be a new Red Bull, not in terms of performance, but in terms of a team with interesting members and charismatic drivers that will bring a light-hearted spirit to the increasingly monotonous paddock.

Cheers.

[Hangaku]

I find it rather amusing really, that a company such as Ferrari will openly call Stefan GP "Vultures".

Vultures circle, awaiting the imminent death of their prey right..?

Is that not what Stefan GP are doing? I think its very fitting.. and i'm one of those wanting Stefan GP to gain a license for 2010.

In your context, sure it's an accurate comparison. However, in the context that it's been delivered on the Ferrari website, it just sounds like sour grapes. Referring to someone or something as a Vulture is quite obviously not a form of flattery.

As for the "it's nice to hear the truth" - of course it is, everyone likes hearing the truth. But when it's delivered in this fashion, being projected with a holier than thou attitude, while seeking to raise contention and controversy, it reads like someone is just trying stir the merde.

Pardon my french

[gibells]

Bullshit... who is to say any of the other selections would have been any better? Toyota & BMW had grid slots and where are they now?

Prodrive was given a slot a couple years ago(when the financial situation was much better) and never fielded a car.

Any speculation that any other teams selected would have been more successful is just that... pure speculation.

Campos & USF1 are suffering mainly from money problems... tell me who isnt in this day and age?

Luca is just an asshole, 10X worse than Max ever was...

birds fly upside down over Luca's head cause he aint even worth shitting on.

Ok, one at a time. Easy pickings first. USF1. CAD drawings- ok woohoo. no current F1 designer, no engineers from the F1 sector, no crash test, no car, no engines, no pit crew, no money after Hurley's backed out, nada.

Second Campos. This ones a little harder. I'll give you that. Ok, they've partially bought cars from Dallara. Great. But they've not built anything around that to be able to take a car to the track and race. Kolles even says it's total caos. Little more than an empty workshop. You would really have expected them to at least be geared up so they're ready to go, but no. Nothing. Chances are they'll be OK, but with Carabante taking over from Campos I still don't see where all the money is suddenly going to come from.

You mentioned Toyota and BMW. Yeah, I never said anything about them. One team is back, the other has been dispersed with the car and remnants ready for the Vultures.

You also mentioned Prodrive. Again, thats politics. I don't see the difference in what they wanted to do (back then) get a car from another manufacturer and use a Mercedes engine, to what Torro Rosso have done, or what Campos is doing with Dallara. Maybe it was their association with personas non grata (Dennis) that got their application rejected this time, but they do know how to put a team together to go racing. So, I think, do Lola.

Anyway, Who knows. Whatever. It's just too much politics and not enough common sense.

...still, I'd rather have a bird --- on me than a bull...

[Mr Alcatraz]

I don't uderstand the preocupation on this forum of a man that has nothing to do with the day to day operation of an F1 team! I don't care for the man. Yes he talks out of his ass.
But hey, let's go racing boys!!

[jddh1]

Well written piece by the Ferrari PR team. I seriously doubt Monty had anything to do with it. He usually takes credit for pieces he writes.
As some other have said early, I'm glad they have published their views exactly as they see them. It's a breath of fresh air; I'm tired of the same old PR template.
Now, I think this piece is really against Mad Max and The Bernie. It's not too much against the new teams. I think Ferrari have embarked in a slow (for now) campaign to discredit Spanky's and The White Haired Boss' reputation and legacy in the sport. And I think they're doing the right thing.
Go Ferrari, and I'll be reading the next piece like this that will be released by you.

[WhiteBlue]

I found this US opinion by the New York Times.

Ferrari’s Armchair Critic
By BRAD SPURGEON
The Ferrari Formula One team has published an odd critical column on its web site, tearing about the efforts of new teams to enter the series. In a column on the official Ferrari web site titled, “The Horse Whisperer – for whom the bell tolls” it criticizes the battles the new teams like USF1 and Campos are having to try to enter the sport. And it says that the FIA, which has encouraged these teams to enter the series, should have done more to keep the car manufacturers instead.

But when you look at what has been happening with some of the car manufacturers that have left, particularly Toyota – with it international recall disaster, etc. – retrospectively you wonder how that could have gone any other way. And as to trying to make the series look bad because of the efforts of new teams to come in, I have a hard time understanding the logic to that.

I’ve given the link to the original story, above, so I’m not going to quote the whole thing here. But what about this line?: “Of the thirteen teams who signed up, or were induced to sign up, for this year’s Championship, to date only eleven of them have heeded the call, turning up on track, some later than others, and while some have managed just a few hundred kilometres, others have done more, but at a much reduced pace.”

This looks odd to me. For what we’re really seeing is that last year we had 10 teams, and this year we have at least 11 teams for the moment, and perhaps – although it’s far from certain – there will be more to come. And this is in a series where not long ago the message the general public seemed to be picking up – ie, non-fans – was that the whole thing was crumbling to pieces and soon there would be no teams….

What on earth could be the purpose of this Ferrari criticism?

This is quite simply another manipulative piece which is meant to convince us that the Ferrari interpretation of the manufacturer pull out is true. For those of you who read German I recommend Michael Schmidt's blog Red card for Ferrari. Schmidt is a senior F1 journo with a long participation in the paddock. He completely rejects Montezemolo's tirade. The manufacturers would have pulled out anyway and Ferrari's strategy of three cars or satellite teams would have been a desaster for F1.

To answer Brad Spurgon's question: This is just the usual self pontification that we have to expect by Montezemolo. Jean Todt will shake it off like the rubbish it is.

[donskar]

The silliness in this thread hardly deserves to be dignified by an adult response, so I'll just say I am writing this in support of jddh1, tazio, Fil and others who have exhibited some intelligence and maturity.

I hesitate to intrude facts into this volatile thread, but here goes anyway: This post stems from my experience as VP, Marketing at a few small high tech companies, Director of Communications for a multi-billion dollar division of a Fortune 25 company, and from what I learned from my mentor, Senior VP of Communications at one of the so-called Detroit "Big Three." Experience, not emotion.

1) Most important: There is little to no chance that Luca de M actually wrote, reviewed, or approved this article. He is Chairman of Ferrari, an entity far larger than its F1 team. He has FAR more important things to do. To attack him for it personally is unfair and simply ignorant.

2) But is he not responsible for it? Realistically, in the real world sense, not really. Ferrari's Communication Director is Stefano Lai. Assuming LdM trusts him (a reasonable assumption) Lai does NOT have to clear every word in print with LdM or anyone else. Yes, I was in the position of writing many releases that represented companies and therefore the company President and CEO. No, I did NOT always seek approval before releasing those communications to the public. I represented a Fortune 25 company on TV and radio -- with no prepare script and no oversight, because I had earned trust. Again, an executive at LdM's level has far more important things to do than approve the text of a piece appearing on the company's web site. And if Lai has not earned his superiors' trust, he is not long in his position (he has held that position since Jan 2008 -- in the US, the average life expectancy of someone in that position is under 2 years).

3) After 25 years in Marketing Communications -- from entry level writer to university professor to VP -- I'd bet that this piece was written by a very junior member of the Corp Comm team. Just read it yourself and look at the word choice. And look at the title, "Horse Whisperer." That's a title you use for a gossip column, not a corporate position statement.

Finally, is it not refreshing to see an F1 team with the guts to speak out on a controversial topic? To take on the FIA? To say what a large number of us agree with? And to risk the wrath of those who attack ANYTHING Ferrari says or does?