According to Mario Andretti, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are ‘trapped’
Scuderia Ferrari hasn’t won a Formula 1 world championship title since 2008, when they secured the Constructors’ title, while the last Drivers’ title victory dates back to the previous year in 2007, when Kimi Raikkonen became world champion following a thrilling final round of the season.
In 2010 and 2012, Fernando Alonso fought for the championship until the final race, in 2017 and 2018, Sebastian Vettel contested the world title with Lewis Hamilton until late in the seasons, and just a year ago, the dazzling start of Charles Leclerc with the F1-75 turned out to be a mere illusion due to a series of power unit failures and poor strategical decisions which prevented the Monegasque driver from challenging Max Verstappen for the title.
2023 quickly dashed hopes of revenge, and even 2024 could be a transitional season towards 2025, the last year of this regulatory cycle before the anticipated change in 2026, not only in terms of power units. Mario Andretti, the 1978 Formula 1 world champion with Lotus and also a driver for the Scuderia Ferrari, has no doubts about what the Maranello team would need to aim for victory again: “Ferrari needs to bring back Luca di Montezemolo, that’s what I think,” the opinion of the motorsport legend, as Mario Andretti also won in IndyCar in 1984.
Luca di Montezemolo was the sporting director of the Prancing Horse in the 1970s, experiencing the successes of Niki Lauda, and led the team to Formula 1 world titles from 2000 to 2004 with Michael Schumacher during his long presidency of Ferrari, which began in 1991 and ended in 2014 when Sergio Marchionne took his place, sadly passing away prematurely in 2018. The baton left by Sergio Marchionne was taken up by John Elkann, and now in 2023, Frederic Vasseur’s adventure at the helm of the Scuderia has just begun after the four-year tenure of Mattia Binotto from 2019 to 2022.
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Mario Andretti added that he feels particular empathy and solidarity for drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz: “I feel very sorry for them, it’s not their fault, I’m sure of it – ‘Piedone’ added – Charles is frustrated by what’s happening, sometimes even at a strategic level. I’m disappointed in the management of the Scuderia, very disappointed. Any F1 enthusiast can’t help but pay attention to Ferrari, for which there’s always a soft spot. At the moment, the drivers aren’t being offered a winning ‘package’.” – the motorsport legend concluded.
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