Ferrari's 2017 approach risky - Montezemolo

Former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has said that Ferrari are taking a big risk in their approach to designing a modern Formula 1 car.

The 69 year old has questioned the teams approach of only employing Italian engineers, despite the car impressing so far at pre-season testing.

"Ferrari made a risky choice," he told Italian radio Rai. "They want to have a car constructed exclusively by Italian engineers, but in formula one you need the best people in the industry. It would be nice to win with Italians alone, but excellence is not always in a single country."

Di Montezemolo thinks that Sebastian Vettel could leave the team at the end of the season if the car is not competitive, and doesn't see Kimi Raikkonen as part of the teams' future.

"Vettel has three (Ferrari) victories," he said. "He will assess the competitiveness of this car after two or three Grands Prix. As his contract expires, he will then decide his future.

"Raikkonen? He is not the future of Ferrari. Good times are positive, but times that are worth something will only be in Melbourne."

Fergal Walsh