Pino Allievi believes Ferrari’s fundamental problem lies in the bureaucracy within Maranello, arguing that it has held back valuable people while the team has struggled to turn the potential of the SF-26 into consistent results. He also questioned whether Fred Vasseur has fully adapted to Ferrari’s unique environment, contrasting the Frenchman’s approach with the discipline imposed by Jean Todt during one of the team’s most successful eras.
Ferrari bureaucracy and lost talent at Maranello
“The problem is the bureaucracy inside Maranello.” That is how Pino Allievi identified what he sees as Ferrari’s underlying weakness during the latest FormulaPassion.it Q&A. Asked about the succession of team principals and the difficulty of producing a decisive turnaround in results, Allievi criticised Fred Vasseur for failing to fully enter the mindset of the Prancing Horse and impose the necessary rigour.
“A lot of valuable people have been bogged down inside the Maranello bureaucracy, like Andrea Stella, who went to McLaren. Andrea Stella did not leave Ferrari for political reasons, but nobody realised that he had the qualities to be number one.”
Allievi then distinguished between the circumstances behind the departures of Ferrari’s previous team principals: “Mattia Binotto left for other reasons. He would not have left if there had not been the engine issue, over which there were disagreements with management. The others left for more or less natural reasons: Stefano Domenicali had been there forever and Luca di Montezemolo did not like him, while Maurizio Arrivabene was no longer liked by the then chief executive Louis Camilleri.”
The discussion comes at a time when Fred Vasseur’s position and the criticism surrounding Ferrari’s leadership continue to attract attention around the team.
Fred Vasseur compared with Jean Todt
Allievi’s assessment of Ferrari’s current management became particularly severe when he discussed Fred Vasseur’s relationship with the Maranello environment: “Fred Vasseur has to understand that Ferrari is this. In my opinion, he and his closest collaborators have not understood where they are. He has never really entered Ferrari’s mentality, unlike Jean Todt.”
Jean Todt provides Allievi with the benchmark for how Ferrari should be managed internally: “He could be unpleasant, he could be disliked by half of the Racing Division, but he imposed rigour, order and clarity in the roles. Something that, in my opinion, Fred Vasseur has not done. I do not see the rigour at all.”
The debate over Ferrari’s management structure has also extended to whether the team needs additional senior leadership alongside Fred Vasseur, rather than simply another change of team principal.
Ferrari SF-26 is not a disaster, but execution is lacking
The criticism then shifted to Ferrari’s performance on track. According to Pino Allievi, the SF-26 has qualities that the team is failing to translate into results, with the limitation involving race-weekend execution and set-up across different circuits as well as engine performance.
“I am among those convinced that this year’s car is not a disaster and that the blame does not lie only with Enrico Gualtieri’s management of the engine. I think Ferrari has built an excellent car: what is missing is execution on track, together with the set-up at the various circuits. Yes, you may be lacking a little power, but Red Bull too, with the best engine according to the FIA, does not perform at certain circuits.”
The question of Ferrari’s relative performance against the other leading teams can also be followed through the Ferrari vs F1 Rivals statistics, which track the team’s competitive position across the season.
Allievi also highlighted the contribution of Lewis Hamilton, whose experience and recent performances have strengthened Ferrari’s driver line-up even though the expected results have not consistently followed: “I repeat, Ferrari has an excellent car. It has a driver like Lewis Hamilton who this year not only brings you experience, but is finally going incredibly fast. But the results are not coming.”
Lewis Hamilton has himself discussed both Ferrari’s technical progress and the areas in which its rivals still hold an advantage, including the remaining Ferrari power deficit despite progress with the SF-26.
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