Benedetto Vigna quotes a Japanese proverb
“Nana korobi ya oki,” which means “Fall down seven times, stand up eight.” This is the Japanese proverb quoted by Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna during the Bloomberg Capital Market Forum, where he was interviewed by moderator Tommaso Ebhardt. The Italian physicist and businessman, currently the chief executive officer of Ferrari, used this quote to describe the challenging moment that the Ferrari F1 team is going through in the 2023 season.
The SF-23, the car that Benedetto Vigna had described as “a car that will have no precedents in terms of speed” during its unveiling at Fiorano back in February, currently sits in fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship after seven races, with only one podium finish. The performance falls far short of even the most pessimistic predictions, as Red Bull is out of reach, Mercedes seems to have found its way to recovery before Ferrari, and the competitors for Frederic Vasseur and his team now appear to be Aston Martin and Alpine, respectively the seventh and fourth forces at the end of the 2022 Formula 1 championship.
“It applies to life, and it also applies to Formula 1,” Benedetto Vigna continued after quoting the proverb. “It’s not easy; sometimes you fall four stories and can’t see the end. But with work, passion, skills, and heart, you eventually rise again. I’ve been through it many times.” The CEO seems to have full confidence that the situation is destined to improve, and it couldn’t be otherwise, considering that, at least in terms of podium finishes, the current balance is worse than in 2020 when the SF-1000 finished in sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship.
“Racing will always be in Ferrari’s DNA,” added Benedetto Vigna, who highlighted the team’s return to the top class of the WEC (World Endurance Championship), the Hypercar. “After 50 years, we have returned to the top class of the WEC, and this weekend we have the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We believe that the racetrack is the ideal environment to experiment with solutions that can then be implemented in road production.” – the Ferrari chief executive officer pointed out.
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