Leo Turini on the prophecy of Maurizio Arrivabene

Italian journalist Leo Turini has a truly encyclopedic knowledge of Ferrari’s history, and yesterday’s defeat in Hungary caused him to associate with the events of 2018, leading to very dire consequences.

When I saw Ferrari put a Hard kit on Charles Leclerc’s car, although it was already more than obvious that this rubber works disgustingly for Alpine, I suddenly remembered an old episode when Maurizio Arrivabene showed intemperance in his public statements, and it cost him his position team leader.

In 2018, after a blatant tire selection error, the then-boss of Japan’s Scuderia told reporters that Maranello had too many engineers buried in computers, while the team should coordinate the practitioner’s actions with technical training. and experience of real work on the job.

It seems like a whole era has passed, but nothing has changed since then. I want to be understood: I personally still believe that Arrivabene was wrong, but not essentially. He only made a mistake in his choice of methods, as a leader should never publicly attack his subordinates. Perhaps he should have arranged a dark one for them, but in a calm way—as you should in the business world. In general, Maurizio lost his job because of his words.

Already after the races in Monaco and Silverstone I was afraid that Ferrari would have big problems. They are reflected in the way the team reacts to certain events on the track, when it is necessary to make quick and clear decisions. I formulated my general conclusions some time ago when I emphasized that from my point of view the Scuderia is not ready to fight for the championship win.

I understand the fans and share their annoyance. But the point is different: you have to keep asking yourself a question that somehow sounds childish: How could this happen?

However, I’m not sure if changing the coaching staff, as in football in such cases, would be the answer to this question. Since 2009, when Luigi Mazzola, who had been a coach in the Scuderia and responsible for the effectiveness of the entire staff of the team, was fired, many specialists have been expelled from Ferrari for various reasons.

Suffice it to give an example: in the final race of 2010, a blunder was made in Fernando Alonso’s choice of tactics, after which Chris Dyer, the team’s chief race engineer at the time, was fired. And I don’t remember Ferrari winning at least one championship title after that.

Of course I’m not going to defend anyone. And it wasn’t on my mind.

If the team has ineffective leadership, Ferrari shareholders must step in. But if they think it is enough to take certain measures to unify the team and make some personnel changes, then they should do it. Personally, I think such measures would be appropriate. After all, if you throw the baby out with the water, you will only get new problems. However, I am not trying to convince anyone of anything.

In addition, I am willing to share the dissatisfaction of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz not only with the choice of hard tires, but also with the fact that in Hungary, for the first time in the season, the F1-75 car was not fast enough . You probably noticed that the Spaniard followed the same tactics as Hamilton, but finished behind him, although he started from a higher position.

And this lack of pace can’t just be explained by Mercedes’ progress. After all, if Verstappen hadn’t had any issues in qualifying, he could have easily finished the race more than 30 seconds ahead of Lewis.

I don’t want to convince anyone of anything. We can assume that the second title is already in Max’s pocket, and so far he shows that he fully deserves it. But in the remaining races of the season, the Ferrari team must try to solve their problems, because so far even the pit stops leave a lot to be desired.

And of course we have to win as many races as possible, because I think the only way to bring about changes in the psychological mood of the team is to get out of this impasse and try to paint a certain picture of a bright future that will allow us will enable them to leave all these bitter grievances and disappointments in the past.