Italian journalist and director of Motorsport at Radio Monte Carlo Paolo Ciccarone was interviewed for the latest edition of the Pit Talk Podcast, in episode number 314. Interviewed by f1sport’s Antonio Granato, he was asked a question from one of the users: “Given that many English technicians seem to be very well prepared from the point of view of the chassis and aerodynamics, but they don’t want to come to Italy, isn’t it better for Ferrari to open a technical center in the United Kingdom?”.
In addition to this question, Antonio Granato recalled the past times in which John Barnard, a British designer, wanted to create a Ferrari technological hub, moved to England, to be able to develop the car there. Paolo Ciccarone replied:
“Having experienced the situation up close, I can tell you that it was a completely different need. I’ll give you a clear example. In England at that time there were a number of industries working around the world of Formula 1. They were called “Cottage Industries”, because they were all small artisans. They bought meters of carbon and made the parts for the cars. On the contrary, to have carbon in Italy, you had to place an order, wait for someone to deliver it to you. After that, it was necessary to find who had the autoclave to be able to work it and so on. There was a specific reason for being in England.” – the Italian journalist pointed out.
“Not today. We find carbon in Italy and indeed, there are companies that produce it here. For example, Sauber engineering, which produced and designed carbon parts for the Alfa GTAM in Switzerland, actually had all this done in Teramo. All this was not possible thirty years ago. Today opening a center in England, with a technical manager who can do the same things from Maranello, makes no sense.”
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“What is the English advantage? Since they are all close together, when you (engineer) leave Maranello, you go to the Ferrari Club bar, and at most you meet a friend from the establishment next door. In England, when you go to the bar, you find that of McLaren, Red Bull, Aston Martin and there is an exchange of ideas and words. Another substantial difference in being Ferrari lies in the notoriety and expectations that people place on those who work on the Maranello team. In England, none of that happens.” – Paolo Ciccarone concluded.
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