Bob Bell would be a huge score for Ferrari. Too bad they can't have him until the end of the year. They say he's pursuing other things outside of MB, wonder if that means he found another team who isn't saying anything yet or if he is leaving the sport.
Fantastic news! The revolution begins. This season is lost, so it's great news that Ferrari are taking the opportunity to start the changes to org hierarchy early and give them a chance to bed in.
Mercedes decided to build their current engine almost 2 years before the 2014 season. Was it Domenicalli's decision not to do so ? If so give him the boot. If not find that guy. Gut feel says its someone else.
I think Ferrari finally realize they are in some deep crap, now can they come out of it? I don't think so, at least not this season as they are to far behind the 8 ball at this point. It's a total cluster F there for them to get so far behind.
I guess his usual post race meeting with LdM didn't go well..... I've been one of the few who 'stood behind him', possibly for too long, but as has been said, he doesn't design the car, run the tunnel or CFD departments etc. A sacrificial lamb IMO, but I guess someone had to be the fall guy. As for Flav, I can't believe some of you want that despicable, cheating, human being put in charge. Hopefully his 'lifetime ban' will NEVER be lifted. I've said before, what he orchestrated should make any true fans of the sport blood run cold. It was despicable, anathema and should never be forgotten. I know memories are short and it's all about 'what have you done for me lately', but the man knowingly put lives at risk. Disgusting. I for one will never, ever, welcome him back in any motor racing paddock. Cheers, Ian
Frustration of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen was approaching danger levels Ross Brawn expected to be Stefano Domenicali's long-term successor via Skysports http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/9265711/frustration-of-fernando-alonso-and-kimi-raikkonen-was-approaching-danger-levels
Senna knowingly put lives at risk but he is regarded as a hero. Could it be said he cheated? Were his actions despicable? Disgusting? After all he orchestrated a win. Should true fans never forget his antics? Strange world.
A friend of mines thoughts: This makes perfect sense to me as a former "insider". The season is lost. Many know that technically their car can't compete this year. Bring in Marco and give him almost a full season of racing experience. Let him understand how is works and how the game is played with no real risk, because he was taking over a dog. Then, Luca steps aside as chairman and Marco takes over. Internally, the big ding on Marco is that he has no racing experience, which is what Ferrari calls themselves. This is a risk free opportunity to get Marco racing experience so he can replace Luca as the head of Ferrari. I have to agree... Rb
Brawn would be good, and I think he's the only one who could provide proper motivation for Vettel to eventually go to Ferrari. Just can't see it happening though.
Putting lives at risk is a strong exaggeration. The Piquet stunt was child's play compared to what some drivers did/do when squeezing competitors against the wall at 200 mph.
Ian: I don't think it's that people necessarily like Briatore or feel that what he did was ethically right. I suspect people feel that he didn't necessarily do anything that many other team principles wouldn't do to win. He got outplayed by Piquet Junior. Robert: that sounds plausible and makes some degree of sense. Supposedly Lucca has extended his contract with Ferrari by three years is the word on the street. John: I certainly hope Brawn goes to Ferrari. However, I will not believe this until I see it. (BTW pm me and tell me what car you're buying next LOL)
As I pointed out earlier, Marco's familiarity and market experience with the Chinese, American and Italian styles of management are unique. It's hard not to imagine there is some validity to applying those experiences to improve the current state of the F1 team as perhaps Stefano's management style, or lack thereof, was a part of the team's downfall. In regards to Luca passing his torch over to Marco that line of logic you laid out is hard to argue, however, despite all of Marco's experience, including being named the auto executive of the year a few years back, I still believe it will be Lapo Elkann's job to lose. For personal reasons, I believe a return of beautiful Ferrari's are more likely under Lapo's leadership.
I wish Ferrari would look past the "need to staff with an Italian" mentality. We will have to wait an see what Matteo can do here. I wish they had got someone with racing experience
It is a good move to make a change. Way past due. They really have no choice. Obviously when it comes to succession planning, Ferrari have come up short, but so many do as well I can't hold that against them too much. Its good they were decisive but now they have to fully execute the change in order to be in contention in 2015. Too much time has gone by already. The places that stress that they are a "family" are the places that need to be the least tolerant of poor performance. "Family" is not just about avoiding having too many rules and regulations and treating people well on a personal level. It is also about each person in the "family" accepting individual responsibility for the success of the entire group, and being willing to step aside when they are not delivering. In this type of organization each individual has much more responsibility, each on must regard himself as a principal -- or it doesn't work.
I think you are blowing everything out of proportion. Briatore and Symmons made their own interpretation of "team tactics" and engineered a fake crash to help reposition the other car in the field and allow Alonso to win a race. A bit extreme, maybe, but I am sure other team managers have also manipulated circumstances and told one of their driver to create a "situation" to favour the other car. I do remember Bandini crashing rather strangely in G.Hill car at the last GP, to allow team mate Surtees to become world champion. The move was so obvious! There are other instances where dodgy tactics have been used as well, like provoking a yellow flag and so on...
I like Domenicali, he seems like a good guy, but after the EBD fiasco at Silverstone '11 and the tire change in '13 it was clear he was not able to protect Ferrari's best interests.
That, or Ferrari sees sense in a Newey factory in the UK. Newey has had offers from Ferrari but he's always declined, saying he doesn't want to relocate to Italy. Newey + Horner + Vettel + Kimi + James Allison. Dream team much?
Its hard to believe Alonso wasn't in the know on that...why would he go along with such a crazy race strategy? Combined with the hijinks at Mclaren, I can't be a fan of the red cars so long as Alonso is with the team.
