The 2023 Formula 1 season has practically come to an end, and after more than twenty races, it can be asserted without the possibility of contradiction that the 2023 Ferrari championship has proven, at least based on track results, not without difficulties.
Despite the high expectations from the presentation and the start of the season, the Prancing Horse has always struggled to extract the potential from the SF-23 single-seater, which, despite being the evolution of the F1-75, proved slow and not very understandable, leading to the red team’s drop in the constructor’s standings.
In addition to this, the season for the Maranello team (especially at the beginning of the campaign) was complicated by significant changes in the team structure (the turnover of top figures like team principal Mattia Binotto, David Sanchez, and Laurent Mekies, and the arrival of new technicians). These ingredients had the potential to create an unhealthy atmosphere and lay the groundwork for a better future than the present.
However, in this moment, despite appearances, Ferrari can rely on a reference point that is far from negligible: President John Elkann. In fact, according to the well-known journalist Umberto Zapelloni in “Top Speed Blog,” the head of the Prancing Horse would be absolutely involved and in love (despite many voices saying the opposite) with the company’s affairs and the Scuderia, as well as highly determined to bring it back to success where it deserves.
“I don’t think the president wants people to say that he doesn’t care about Ferrari. That’s what makes him furious. He loves Ferrari and the history of Ferrari, just as his family has always done since the days of lawyer Agnelli. […] Probably we all want the same thing: to see it return to winning. He is taking time (they assure in the company that he dedicates most of his time to Ferrari) and, of course, money (although the Ferrari budget is a guarantee of success).” – the Italian journalist pointed out.
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It’s a love and involvement that clash with what appears on the outside: appearances that, according to Umberto Zapelloni, are only the result of a way of doing things, a low-profile style of Stellantis’ number one, quite different from that of his predecessors at the top of the Ferrari management.
“I have often nicknamed him the absent president. That’s the impression from the outside. He is a president who never makes statements, never takes positions. But evidently, this does not mean he doesn’t care about Ferrari. […] I understand that he really cares about Ferrari, and it’s only his character’s fault if he doesn’t publicly pound his fists like his predecessors. […] He has a different way of doing things. […] He wants it to win again on the track […] he wants to see it win in F1, like at Le Mans, an achievement for which he deserves many credits because no one before him had the courage to launch the Endurance program.” – Umberto Zapelloni concluded.
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