At the end of January we talked about the film “The Great Race. Audi vs Lancia”, and it seemed to us that this was far from a masterpiece. But the experienced Italian racing journalist Leo Turini liked it, but that’s not the point, but the fact that he personally knows Cesare Fiorio, the main character of this film, so he decided to remember his role in the history of Ferrari, and indeed the entire Formula 1.
Since they made a movie about Cesare Fiorio, Netflix should just dedicate an entire series to Luca di Montezemolo. Ten episodes.
Seriously, I liked the film about the rivalry between Lancia and Audi on the World Rally Championship circuits, and the role of the eternally tanned Fiorio was played by Riccardo Scamarcio. I don’t know much about rally driving, but growing up I was always puzzled why Enzo Ferrari never invited Fiorio to run the Scuderia?
We will never know the answer to this question. But then, shortly after the Commendatore’s death, Cesare started working in Maranello anyway, and probably not by accident.
He was the team’s sports director for two years and inherited a tough year. Nevertheless, Nigel Mansell, Gerhard Berger and Alain Prost achieved 9 victories under him. However, this is not as little as we remember between 1984 and 1988. If I remember correctly, the Scuderia only won six races.
In 1990 Ferrari came close to the title under Fiorio. But it was that unforgettable season when there was a fiasco in Estoril, where Mansell decided to compete with his partner Prost at the start, and then in Suzuka we witnessed a dramatic clash between the same Prost and Ayrton Senna. Of course, Fiorio then had to answer to Cesare Romiti, the then head of the Fiat group.
However, Fiorio’s fate was predetermined even before that Suzuka accident. Paradoxically, he signed his own death warrant when he proposed a great idea. Although personally I could never understand how, after inviting Prost to Maranello, he could indulge the idea that he could get Senna too.
In any case, Ayrton and Alain were considered sworn enemies, and they were completely incompatible. But if you start negotiations with Senna, and at the same time your driver, Alain Prost, is fighting for the title, there can only be two explanations.
Or, in terms of strategic thinking, you are superior to Julius Caesar, Charlemagne and Eisenhower combined, and at the same time more cunning than Odysseus. Or you’re guaranteed to fail.
Actually, this is exactly what happened. In addition, Ferrari suffered serious damage, as the team lost a good manager who passionately loved racing, but it was thanks to him that Prost left and the Scuderia was left without Senna.
After that, Cesare Fiorio never again held a position where he could fully utilize his talents, and he really had them, and he deserved to fulfill his dream of achieving success in Formula 1 with Ferrari, as he did in a rally with Lancia.
It’s probably worth making a separate movie about the events of the 1990 season, and reinviting Scamarcio to play the role of Fiorio.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
