So this is what it has come down to. Kicking ass? Taking some risks? Nothing to lose? I am fine with that; my only question to Mr. Marchionne is: What took so long?
When I read the headline this morning, I was rather surprised and I have to confess I like what the new head of Ferrari is saying. My dad used to say: Kick ass first and take names later. Translation: beat everyone up and then take everyone’s name and figure out who deserved it and who didn’t. Further translation: Just get the job done no matter whom you piss off along the way.
I like this new approach. I can’t tell you how many times I have read or listened to Stefano Domenicali say something like: this is no time to panic, or we must keep our heads, or I am sure the team will bounce back, etc. This was usually due to Ferrari not getting it right, playing catch up, making colossal mistakes in strategy or race decisions, or in regards to the whole wind tunnel/race track correlation issues that plagued Ferrari during most of Fernando Alonso’s time driving for F1’s most celebrated constructor.
However, just because you have said something does not make it true or in this case does not necessarily mean that anything is going to immediately change, based on everything that I have been able to read. The changes that will allow Maranello to become competitive and challenge for race wins on pure pace are several years away. Three is the number of years that seems the most likely.
What is truly confounding about Ferrari right now is, how did they get so low? How did they go from winning so many championships to zero? Forget 2010 and 2012, those were not representative years. Alonso drove well beyond the car’s limits and Red Bull would have cake-walked to the WDC titles if any lesser driver had been in Alonso’s seat.
Back to the point, how did Ferrari lose their way from the über-successful days of Jean Todt, Ross Brawn and Michael Schumacher to being marginalized and finding themselves behind Martini Williams in the team standings with a very real chance of remaining there through year’s end?
I have read countless pages of copy which sought to reveal why this has happened, but I still don’t get it, how does the most famous of all teams, one that has recently experienced an unprecedented amount of success, lose its way so completely?
Whatever the answer is, it is of no real concern to me now. Whatever Mr. Marchionne has up his sleeve is for the benefit (or dismay) of followers of Sebastian Vettel. The Ferrari problem will now be their concern. Being an avid fan of Fernando Alonso, my attention will now (assumably, as we are still waiting for an official announcement) be focused on the guys from Woking, and wouldn’t you know it just my luck, different team, could be the same old story. Here we go again…
