Former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya believes that no one at Scuderia Ferrari is sure of their job and that is is one of the key issues that increases the pressure and leads to mistakes from the Maranello team. The Colombian claims that all members of the Scuderia act out of fear of making an error that could cost them their jobs, which is a big disadvantage when it comes to battling with Mercedes and Red Bull.
The 47-year old Colombian racing driver feels that all the Scuderia team members are afraid of making a mistake and being fired and therefore it is very difficult to get back to the top. “One of the difficult things about Ferrari is that no one feels secure about his job there. Everyone seems to wait for the moment you do something wrong to get fired. At least that’s the impression I get as a person unrelated to the situation there. If you look at Toto Wolff, you know he’s not going anywhere,” – Juan Pablo Montoya acknowledged in an interview with Motorsport Netherlands.
“If you look at Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, you know they stay where they are, but when it comes to the Ferrari boss, it’s a question of how long that person will last. However, I hope they do well. We were a little surprised last year that they had such a powerful car to start with, but they didn’t take full advantage of it. Then they said they could win the last ten races and they won none,” he added.
Juan Pablo Montoya’s bet to replace Mattia Binotto would have been Jean Todt. The Frenchman led Ferrari in his glory years with Michael Schumacher and recalls that he was a well-respected manager across the paddock. Also, not being afraid of losing his job would help him be more courageous in decision making. “I actually thought they would put Jean Todt as team boss, that would have been my choice. Everyone has so much respect for him. Also, when you don’t necessarily need a job, I think you have more courage to make decisions,” – the former Formula 1 driver pointed out.
Asked about Charles Leclerc’s chances of beating Max Verstappen next season if Ferrari manages to put their 2022 problems behind them, Juan Pablo Montoya still sees the Red Bull team as a favorite in the fight for the title. At the same time, the Colombian feels that Charles Leclerc may even have a difficult time in winning the internal duel with his Maranello teammate Carlos Sainz:
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“I wouldn’t say he’s at the same level as Max Verstappen. Because I think Charles is very good, but Max has more experience. And I think the more experience and more race wins, and with the championships now under his belt, that takes a lot of pressure off him.” So for Max to win the championship is much easier than for Charles. Because Charles would go for his first. And to tell you the truth, if Carlos can be comfortable in the car, I think he can do a very good job. If you look at the old cars at the end of the year, not last year, but the year before, Carlos was beating Charles every week. So it all depends on the driver’s comfort in the car,” concluded the seven-time F1 Grand Prix winner.
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