Ferrari boss Sergio Marchionne has admitted that he looked silly following the 2016 campaign, as the Prancing Horses failed to pick up a victory.
Before the season started Marchionne predicted Ferrari to challenge Mercedes for both titles, but as well as not claiming a victory, they fell to third behind Red Bull.
There have been rumours that a very quiet winter from the Maranello team suggests that they are either preparing for a title challenge in 2017, or they are worried about particular problems.
As for his 2016 proclamations that ultimately resulted in not a single race win, Marchionne said: "If an employee tells me that our car is four seconds faster than the last one, I have no choice but to believe him.
"Intellectual honesty is important but I have to admit that I looked silly," the Italian-Canadian is quoted as saying by the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti.
On the 2016 problems, Marchionne said: "Clearly, there were problems with the flow of information, but the matter has since been corrected."
Fergal Walsh
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Replies (5)
Login to replyf1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
And so he should, 2016 was beyond disastrous
boudy
Posts: 1,168
Not sure if they have the Top drivers, Ferrari recruiting someone like Hamilton/Ricciardo must be a priority. Staying with the same drivers will not push Ferrari. Hamilton will go away from Mercedes if they stagnate.
mcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
Its high time, they realize, paying big bucks for a known names, is not the best prospect. Its always best Engineers in the transitional years, isn't it?
boudy
Posts: 1,168
@mcbhargav
An top driver can squeeze more out of a car than a good driver. Since it's so close between teams and you'r looking at 1/10 seconds improvements having a top driver makes sense. I don't believe that the Ferrari was the 3rd team in 2016, only the Red bull drivers made the difference. Would Ferrari be better off if they got the likes of Hamilton or Verstappen? I think the mark of a top driver is that he pushes the whole team forward, like Hamilton did with Merc and Verstappen last year with RedBull.
bremgarten
Posts: 38
Unfortunately Raikkonen is having to play second fiddle to Vettel.
Ferrari have bought a pig in a poke with someone who has been desperately trying to justify his 4 WDCs by whinging about those who have outdriven him.