Is Ferrari still a team capable of attracting Formula 1’s biggest champions? Recent comments from Max Verstappen and Christian Horner have reignited the debate over the future of the Maranello team, while former Ferrari engineer Luigi Mazzola believes the real issue goes much deeper than simply choosing the right team principal.
For Luigi Mazzola, Ferrari’s difficulties are tied to factors including technical continuity, leadership and the ability to build a structure capable of sustaining a genuine Formula 1 title challenge. The prestige of the Prancing Horse remains enormous, but history and reputation alone cannot guarantee a winning car.
Max Verstappen and Christian Horner comments raise Ferrari question
The debate begins with two positions centred on competitiveness. Max Verstappen has made clear that he would not be interested in leaving Red Bull simply to fight for fifth or sixth place, while Christian Horner has indicated that if he returns to Formula 1, his objective would be to win rather than merely participate.
The circumstances are different, but both positions point towards the same principle. For a champion driver or a senior figure accustomed to fighting at the front, the prestige of a famous team is not enough if there is no convincing prospect of competing for the World Championship.
Ferrari still possesses extraordinary history, an international following and a symbolic value in motorsport that few teams can match. Yet none of those qualities automatically produces a competitive Formula 1 car.
That distinction is at the heart of Luigi Mazzola’s assessment of the current situation.
Luigi Mazzola sees Ferrari’s difficulties as a long-term problem
According to the former Ferrari engineer, the Scuderia’s difficulties should not be viewed as a temporary setback. Luigi Mazzola points towards the changes that have taken place over recent years, including different team principals, technical figures and working groups.
Despite those organisational changes, Ferrari has still struggled to establish the level of performance continuity required to demonstrate a clearly winning direction.
The issue is not simply whether the team can secure a podium or capitalise on a difficult race for its rivals. To convince a champion such as Max Verstappen, Ferrari would need to demonstrate that it can regularly develop a competitive car and maintain a structure capable of supporting a full championship campaign.
This is a fundamental distinction. A Formula 1 team can produce significant results on individual weekends, but becoming the benchmark requires maintaining that performance and improving it over time.
Ferrari’s broader position relative to the other leading teams can also be explored through the Ferrari vs F1 Rivals statistics, which track the Scuderia’s results and competitive position against its main Formula 1 opponents.
Could Christian Horner succeed at Ferrari?
A possible move by Christian Horner to Maranello would inevitably generate major interest across Formula 1. His history of success with Red Bull makes the attention surrounding his name understandable, but Luigi Mazzola believes the scale of the challenge should not be underestimated.
As the former Ferrari engineer put it: “Joining Ferrari is not straightforward.”
Returning the Scuderia to the front would require years of work, the right people, competitive drivers and an effective development methodology. Ferrari also operates in a unique environment, under a level of media scrutiny and public pressure that is difficult to compare with most other Formula 1 teams.
A senior figure who had previously succeeded elsewhere could therefore not simply arrive in Maranello and reproduce the same organisational model. Understanding Ferrari’s internal dynamics and finding a way to maximise the resources already available would be essential.
A famous name on its own would not guarantee success.
Is leadership Ferrari’s real problem?
Leadership is one of the most important elements in Luigi Mazzola’s analysis. In his view, understanding Ferrari’s difficulties requires looking not only at the quality of the car but also at the ability of senior management to exercise recognised authority and bring together the people working throughout the organisation.
Luigi Mazzola refers to the successful era built around Jean Todt, Michael Schumacher and Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, highlighting the importance of a strong structure and authoritative leadership in creating a sustained period of success.
The comparison also brings Fred Vasseur’s current position into focus. Luigi Mazzola views the Ferrari team principal as a figure carrying an exceptionally heavy level of responsibility.
That argument does not automatically absolve any individual, nor does it suggest that Ferrari’s difficulties can be reduced to one person. Instead, it points towards the balance required between sporting leadership, technical expertise, organisation and decision-making.
For that reason, replacing the team principal without addressing deeper structural causes could leave the underlying problem unresolved.
What changed at Ferrari after the Michael Schumacher era?
Luigi Mazzola also highlights a major technical transformation that changed how Formula 1 teams work: the gradual disappearance of extensive private testing.
During Ferrari’s most successful era, the team could rely on a highly developed track-testing programme, with dedicated resources and the possibility of working simultaneously at different circuits.
That system gave Ferrari a significant opportunity to understand the behaviour of its cars, validate new solutions and accelerate development through direct track running.
As testing became increasingly restricted, simulation and virtual development tools assumed far greater importance. Luigi Mazzola believes Ferrari was initially less prepared for that transformation than some of its competitors.
This does not mean that testing restrictions alone explain everything that followed. The wider point is that Formula 1’s technical balance changed significantly as teams became more dependent on simulation, factory tools and the quality of correlation between virtual development and real-world track performance.
Modern competitiveness now depends heavily on integrating data, simulation, track-to-factory correlation and rapid decision-making into one effective development process.
Can Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton be enough for Ferrari?
The problem therefore extends beyond the Formula 1 driver market. Luigi Mazzola considers Charles Leclerc a highly talented driver, but his performance must also be assessed in the context of the cars he has been given.
Without a consistently competitive machine, even an elite driver can find it impossible to convert individual potential into World Championship results.
The same principle applies to Lewis Hamilton and to other major names who have represented Ferrari. A winning organisation must provide its drivers with the technical tools and clear direction required to perform at their highest level.
Relying on individual talent while leaving the fundamental weaknesses of the car unresolved cannot be a sufficient long-term strategy.
The importance of the machinery has again been visible during the current season, with Ferrari continuing to search for greater consistency from the SF-26. The team’s recent technical challenges and areas requiring improvement are examined in our Ferrari SF-26 technical analysis from Singapore.
This is also why Max Verstappen’s position raises an uncomfortable question. What established champion would choose to change teams without a reasonable expectation of fighting for the championship?
Ferrari’s prestige is no longer enough on its own
Ferrari remains one of Formula 1’s most powerful symbols. But its extraordinary history also makes the distance between the prestige of the brand and the expectations of its supporters even more visible.
The positions expressed by Max Verstappen and Christian Horner can be interpreted as another indication of how decisive competitiveness has become when leading figures consider their futures.
They do not prove that major drivers or senior Formula 1 figures are no longer interested in Ferrari. What they do underline is that the history and reputation of the Scuderia cannot by themselves remove doubts created by results on the circuit.
Ferrari therefore needs to demonstrate more than the ability to attract famous names. It needs a project capable of progressing, recognised leadership and a technical methodology strong enough to compete with the best organisations in Formula 1.
That challenge becomes even more important as Ferrari attempts to translate individual flashes of performance into sustained competitiveness. Charles Leclerc has already voiced concerns about the risk of losing ground, making the team’s upcoming development programme particularly significant. The background to those concerns can be found in our analysis of Ferrari’s Austin upgrades and Charles Leclerc’s warning.
The question is therefore no longer simply whether Christian Horner could one day move to Maranello, or whether Max Verstappen could eventually choose Ferrari.
The more important question is whether Ferrari can rebuild a Formula 1 organisation that makes the prospect of fighting for the World Championship genuinely credible again.
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