As expected, the wait for the choice of the new Scuderia Ferrari team principal which in all probability “should end in January”, has given the opportunity for specialized media outlets from all over the world to report on the most classic of names regarding the new head of the Ferrari Formula 1 Racing Division.
The outgoing manager, Mattia Binotto, will keep his post until 31 December, but various sources indicate that the his internal company interim role was taken on by the managing director Benedetto Vigna. The names reviewed by the various means of communication well exceed ten possible candidates and even the possibility of a trio at the helm of the Maranello Sports Management is not excluded, with a sort of super boss, a team principal and a technical director, based on the Red Bull model.
If the name of Frederic Vasseur does not necessarily seem to give fans a lot of hope regarding Ferrari’s future, that of Simone Resta as technical manager is in fact much more appreciated the Maranello team’s many fans. However, Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera had removed the name of Gerhard Berger from the list of possible candidates for Mattia Binotto’s succession, highlighting a refusal from the former Formula 1 driver because he was “busy with other matters”. The 63-year-old Austrian, who raced for Scuderia Ferrari in two different three-year periods (1987-1989 and 1993-1995), after his experience as a driver was involved in the BMW F1 project from 2000 to 2003 and in February 2006 he acquired 50% of the shares of Toro Rosso, before handing them over again to Red Bull in November 2008. He was then in the FIA between 2011 and 2014 as president of the Single-seater Commission, before becoming president of ITR, the DTM organizers, in 2017. One big information from a few days ago was the sale of the DTM brand to ADAC, orchestrated by the Austrian himself, after the ITR exit.
For the British website ‘The Race’, Gerhard Berger would be just the figure Ferrari needs, described as a “lovable and no-nonsense” character, who grew up “learning from the best: Jean Todt, Ron Dennis, Frank Williams and Flavio Briatore”. The British publication underlined the “enormous respect” he has earned within the paddock, highlighting his “great passion” and the characteristic of “demanding so much from his troops” of the 63-year-old Austrian, albeit “the bitter cup” of the Ferrari team principal role requires much more than “leadership skills and personnel recruitment”.
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Journalist Jim Wright then concluded: “Ferrari should not choose a comfortable solution. It needs a tough and wise professional who has the experience, knowledge, ability to win and a proven track record of success as a driver, team owner and businessman,” is Gerhard Berger’s description.
The Spaniards of SoyMotor, in an article written by Raymond Blancafort, are also on the same line of thought: “It’s not a name that circulates, but if I have to analyze the candidates, I can’t find a better one than Gerhard Berger. He has several characteristics that are ideal for the position”; the Iberian publication then analyzed the former Ferrari driver’s curriculum, completing the thought: “he hasn’t been in Formula 1 for a decade, but staying out doesn’t mean being uninformed. He certainly is an interesting name, especially given Maranello’s difficulties in finding a replacement for Mattia Binotto.”
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