Why Ferrari will never end up like Williams: analysis of differences and similarity

Ferrari, like the rest of the Formula 1 teams, has had to keep the power unit turned off due to what happened in Emilia Romagna. Therefore, it happens that people talk about everything that is related to the top category of motorsport. Hot air, in short. However, let’s ask ourselves this question: “Is it possible for the Prancing Horse to suffer a noble decline, even marginal, following the recent and devastating history of the glorious Williams?”

This question was raised in a lengthy and somewhat well-argued article by Dieter Rencken for Racingnews365, where it is recalled that many glorious teams have disappeared in the history of Formula 1. The key points: Williams made a gigantic mistake when Franck Williams and Patrick Head decided to list the team on the stock market (in Frankfurt) with an IPO.

The IPO, initial public offering, is one of the methods that companies (including teams) can use to go public, making their shares available to financial traders and investors. This stock market listing was the one from which Williams, at least until now, has never recovered.

They appointed a financial director who had nothing to do with Formula 1, and they tried to save money everywhere, creating a continuous descent into the abyss. Because within the sport, without money (which translates into technology and quality human “capital”), you don’t get anywhere.

Ferrari also went public in 2015 in New York (with widely positive results), and Ferrari also has top roles occupied by people like Benedetto Vigna who are not directly related to F1 (although we understand that he is now fully involved in the sporting aspect). The issues for the Prancing Horse are different, and the sporting results have not always had a negative trend in these past 15 years. There have been bad years and others that were less bad, some decent, and some competitive, as explained by F1 expert Mariano Froldi for FUnoanalisitecnica.

Ferrari: an economically healthy team

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Ferrari does not have any financial problems. While it is true, as Dieter Rencken states, that the Maranello team has seen a reduction in sponsors since last season, with a loss estimated at $50 million (we don’t have the means to verify it), it is also true that the Italian team, with just the “allowance” it receives for being in the paddock (referred to as the “Concorde Agreement”), has no particular issues in managing its sports department. In fact, Ferrari has even diversified by returning to endurance racing (after half a century) with the 499P and has achieved results (so far) that are far from negligible.

It is also true that with the budget cap, it is more difficult, if not impossible, to replicate the period prior to the golden five-year period (2000-2004), that is, to almost entirely acquire the key figures of Benetton by signing Michael Schumacher, with enormous expenses. In those years, Ferrari was experiencing a decline in road cars sales, and Fiat took care of the money aspect.

Today, there is no problem with road cars, which are now cash cows. Paradoxically (as the author of the article states, and as we have also noticed many times), while Enzo Ferrari created road cars to finance the racing team, now the GES (Gestione Sportiva, the racing division) is almost a negative appendix of the company, in the sense that it is the only division that does not yield positive results and cannot use the substantial revenues from road cars due to the spending cap imposed by the FIA.

Considering these points, let’s see where the major differences lie, according to the Italian website FUnoanalisitecnica. Scuderia Ferrari’s facilities are not even remotely comparable to those of Williams. They are of significant importance and have nothing to envy as compared to Red Bull or Mercedes. The problem is not simply the lack of money or resources, but rather the lack of top-level figures who know how to do their job well. And it is now more challenging than ever to attract top talent away from the competition.

However, this certainly does not imply a continuous downhill path like what happened with Williams. Ferrari still has enormous prestige today, especially among the drivers, despite what some may say. Therefore, while the team in Grove has a long road ahead to at least return to being in the midfield teams, and we would not be surprised if they were to close their doors (which we do not wish for the sake of Formula 1), the same cannot be said for Ferrari.

Moreover, even if it is true that it may not matter to the new fans (those that Stefano Domenicali likes so much) of Ferrari in F1, it would still be a significant downsizing for “The Summit of Motorsport” to no longer have them in the Grand Prix. It is currently an unreal hypothesis. No, we don’t think Ferrari is at risk of ending up like Williams.

To put it in English terms: “too big to fail” (meaning it is far from substantial downsizing). In the worst-case scenario, which is not impossible, Ferrari could sail in mediocrity for some time. This, by the way, is part of the historical record of Maranello. The fans and supporters who know the history of F1 and Ferrari are well aware of this. Unfortunately.