Montezemolo: I don’t like Ferrari’s current situation

Luca di Montezemolo, former president of Ferrari, became another special guest of the Gazetta dello Sport festival and spoke to fans in the city of Trento about his reverent attitude towards the legendary Italian brand and its founder.

“Enzo Ferrari offered me a job when I was 25 years old. “I owe him almost everything,” di Montezemolo said. “He explained to me that you should always keep your head up, that you should never give up, but that you should be more focused on the days of victories than on the days of defeats.

When you fail, it is easier to find the strength to respond to it, and when you win, there is always the risk that you will tell yourself that we are the best and therefore calm down.

And from Gianni Agnelli (former head of the FIAT group) I inherited the curiosity and desire to see the world, the desire not only to understand what it is like now, but also to imagine what it will be like in 5 or 10 years. .”

Speaking about the great drivers he had the opportunity to work with at Ferrari, Di Montezemolo emphasized that Niki Lauda was his best friend, and about Michael Schumacher he said: “He is an exceptional person. As a driver, he stood out for his most attentive attitude to the preparation of the car, his ability to follow the interests of the team in everything and his ability to drive every lap of the race as if he were in qualifying for pole moisture. .”

The 76-year-old Italian spoke highly of Max Verstappen, now a three-time world champion, noting that he had even followed his successes when he was karting.

But he criticized his favorite team: “I don’t like Ferrari’s current position, I don’t like the prospect of celebrating third place in the Constructors’ Championship. For me personally, this would amount to defeat. As for the drivers, this is the least of all the Scuderia’s problems; the biggest problems are with the car.”