There is much talk about Scuderia Ferrari, both good and bad. However, the Maranello team itself speaks very little. Let’s explain a seemingly convoluted concept. The Italian team is one of the cornerstones of F1, and it’s natural that the eyes of the entire motorsport world are on Maranello. Analysis, opinions, evaluations, conjectures, hypotheses – every day sees a proliferation of writings about the red team, a “game” in which we, as those responsible for informing and reporting sports and technical events, also participate.
On the other hand, we often hear the voices of the two drivers, as is normal, and of the Head of Sports Management, Frédéric Vasseur, whose duties include representing and speaking for the team, especially when things are not going as well as expected in this 2023 Formula One season.
What we hear very little, with a few drops here and there, is from the ownership or its representatives. Occasionally, in the paddocks of the Grand Prix, John Elkann makes an appearance, and he has never been known for his outspokenness. We can understand that an entrepreneur leading a vast and large group like Exor might express himself on the subject of Formula 1 with restraint.
The other plenipotentiary representative, Benedetto Vigna, is equally reticent when it comes to delving into the world of motorsport. After his grandiloquent words on the day of the SF-23 presentation, which had a boomerang effect, there have been very few interventions regarding Ferrari’s performance in the premier series.
Most of the words have come in the margins of other issues, such as the conferences held after the publication of the cash flow statements of the sports car industrial group. This happened again yesterday during a call centered around the communication of the company’s semi-annual results.
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Ferrari: Benedetto Vigna’s Low Profile
This time, Benedetto Vigna kept the enthusiasm in check and did not talk about the fastest car ever. His intervention, calm and measured, seemed like the statement of an old Christian Democratic politician: saying everything to say nothing, or saying nothing to say everything – you choose. “In some recent races, like last weekend at Spa Francorchamps, we have seen some signs of improvement. Clearly, we want to keep improving, and we are working day and night to make our car more competitive.” These were the words reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport during the meeting with the group’s financial analysts.
“Racing is our heritage and, more than ever, a stimulus for further innovation,” continued the manager. “It is the will to progress that we must always keep alive; it is the legacy of our founder that we must constantly nurture with confident humility. With this spirit, we began the F1 World Championship, but with a level of competitiveness lower than our expectations.” – the Ferrari CEO added.
There isn’t much to analyze about what was said. Perhaps the last passage, highlighted in bold, is the only one deserving of some further attention. It can be inferred that much more was expected from this season, especially after sacrificing the entire second part of 2022 by halting the development of the F1-75 and redirecting funds and expertise towards creating the SF-23. This policy, for which Mattia Binotto paid the price, triggered a cascade effect that led to an ongoing reorganization in the technical and managerial structure.
The CEO of Ferrari seems to observe things clinically from the outside. It is probably a new media strategy, but it cannot hide the fact that it was the Vigna-Elkann duo who wanted the turnaround in Sports Management. Perhaps what was lacking, and we return to the beginning of this text, is a more punctual communication to the outside world.
It was necessary, in simple terms, to explain that the massive restructuring required to put Ferrari back at the center of the stage needed to be accompanied by a more extended timeline than what was perhaps expected. Regardless of what is said, Maranello is unaccustomed to winning and must create the mortar needed to build, brick by brick, the solid technical wall required to compete with the realities that have dominated Formula 1 for over three decades (Mercedes and Red Bull) and those that are beginning to push for a prominent place at the feast.
The top executives of the Prancing Horse do not need to spend time in continuous conferences and press appointments; it would be enough to assess the situation and, as happens in any company of a certain caliber, set realistic goals in line with a step-by-step growth program. This is what Fred Vasseur talks about, and he is not lacking in a keen sense of pragmatism.
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