Nico Rosberg and Ferrari’s problems
Words, sometimes bold declarations. Ferrari fans are used to it, and Frederic Vasseur’s statements in February are only the latest in a long line of comments that have at times risked giving supporters false hope. The phrase “We’ll fight for both World Championships” not only seems far from reality but also raises questions about what led the Frenchman to such optimism ahead of a season in which Ferrari has often looked like the fourth-best team, collecting just three podiums in ten races and the consolation prize of the Chinese Sprint.
According to Nico Rosberg, beyond the technical challenges, there’s a cultural issue that hinders Ferrari’s competitiveness. A working method, in short, that’s too different from that of British teams — a point also subtly underlined by Lewis Hamilton in Canada, albeit in a different tone.
Nico Rosberg’s words
“I’ve seen a few things inside Ferrari, and you can tell the level of excellence they’ve reached is not comparable to that of British teams, especially not to a team like Mercedes in many areas,” said the 2016 World Champion on Sky UK’s The F1 Show podcast. “The fact that they’re based in Italy makes everything much harder. At Mercedes, whenever Lewis had an issue, he’d go straight to Toto Wolff, who would make a decision immediately. At Ferrari, instead, many people are involved in making decisions, and even Lewis isn’t quite sure what to do. It’s all a bit complicated.” – the former Mercedes driver pointed out.
For the German, even “moving” across the Channel — an option several other teams have at least explored by planning a UK base — wouldn’t necessarily solve things: “I heard a rumor that Ferrari is considering opening a facility in the UK, because that’s the motorsport valley. The problem would be communication. That base would need to communicate excellently with the main headquarters, and perhaps that’s not possible.”
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