You are S.F. team principal; Choose your team leader

I am assuming that almost all here are Ferrari tifosi. The unimaginable has happened and Sergio Marchione has called you and offered you the job of team principal of Scuderia Ferrari. You and Sergio have learned that unusual circumstances have caused the F.I.A. to declare that all drivers are free agents, are released from any and all contractual obligations and can sign with any team. Pick your team leader from amongst today's drivers and support your choice with facts, not opinions.

 

The cheapest driver. Spend the rest in the car. That's the priority right now.

 

that's the answer to a question that wasn't posed.

 

I would go with an experienced bargained priced driver along the lines of button, massa, or even grosjean. and then I would go with a rookie such as rossi or nasr.

I think the money would be better spent on engineers and aerodynamicists, ie adrian newey and bring in ross brawn as a technical director.

 

Recruit Hamilton at all cost!

He is very competitive, never gives up, goes fact, adapts quickly, and actually dominates the field. He has won championships on 2 different cars and still have many years in front of him.

It costs me to say that because I don't particularly like the guy, but if I was told to look after Ferrari's interests, then I would have to put my personal taste aside.

 

You can't be my team principal. His worry isn't funding, that's Sergio's job. He has asked you to get the best driver.

 

I'll play:

1. Team Leader - Sebastian Vettel. reason 4 x WDC, young enough to stay and develope a car and team, and has incredible car control. He would need to have the Team focused around him and and all efforts on him. so I would then have Jenson Button as the 2nd driver. In a good car Button is right there, and has tons of experience, as well as help me capitolize Ferrari in the english speaking world, as well as Japan and far east.

I would also immediatly change the Scuderia Ferrari branding on the car. and go back to a more Classic Ferrari look... use the bar codes, or some other Marlboro type logo.

Team uniforms - Black pants, Light blue shirt with Yellow Scudetto - aka 1950's overalls.

Bring Ross Brawn back, and give him free reign, and a % of the team ownership. there you go, my first week as Team boss at SF.

 

1. Marchionne hasn´t got a clue about racing so I wouldn´t care too much about what he had asked me.

2. Marchionne is quite stingy so I wouldn´t expect unlimited funds from him.

3. I stick to my point: you asked what I´d do as Ferrari´s boss. That´s what I would do: I´d care about drivers later.

4. If your question is what I´d do in a fantasy world with unlimited funds, etc... then I´d do a three car team with the drivers with most championship wins, that would be Hamilton, Vettel and Alonso, I suppose.

 

If you want facts and no opinions, why do you ask this question in an internet forum???
Especially as this is an abstract question and even the team bosses base their decisions on the drivers line-up on their own opinion although they are much closer than everyone here in this forum...

 

That wouldn´t be possible, as bar codes and all Marlboro fake logos are banned.

Yes, I know that the current paintwork also looks like the Marlboro logo, but I suppose that sooner or later they´ll ban it too as they did with the bar codes, etc...

 

I have no facts to offer, but I'd like to see a world-wide mixed team:

3 drivers
Experienced German / Austrian Driver
Young American Driver
Young Italian Driver

Experienced English Manager

Japanese / Italian / American / German Engineers

All speaking Italian and working with the home team in Maranello.

Simple and unlikely I know...

Robb

 

Alonso and Hamilton

 

Many thanks, Tom; you answered my question, stated facts that supported your opinion, the opinion being your drivers selection. Added stuff was interesting and useful.

 

Hi Peter, I did indeed want opinions; driver selection itself is your opinion, with supporting facts, i.e. reasons for your opinion. I thought that was clear.

 

Name, Robb, name. you've given descriptions, not a driver team leader.

 

Hi Desoto; I agree with #1, agree with #2, but I asked only to pick your team leader, not what you'd do as Ferrari's boss. You finally did it! but you picked two too many.

 

Today's "team leaders" are behind the pit wall, staring at screens, not in the cockpit.

 

The problem is that I don't believe in that stuff of drivers as "team leaders".

Drivers drive. But the most important things (tech stuff, budget, politics...) are out of their control. So that's the reason I wouldn't care about the drivers of Ferrari now.

Edit: Jack-the-lad beat me by a few seconds.

 

The answer you are looking for is Vettel and Kimi. The two best drivers. Now . . . fix the damn car.

 

Team principal:
Ross Brawn

Chief Technical Officer:
Adrian Newey

Aero nerd:
Peter Prodromou

Drivers:
Kimi and Vettel. Good friends, no bull****, want the same from the car, little controversy and monstrously quick in the right car. Both seem to get along with most everyone in the teams they've been in. Last thing you want is a Hamilton/Alonso or a Hamilton/Rosberg scenario when all that people are talking about is 2 *****es having a full on handbag slap match, despite your team doing all the winning. Creates a bad air around the whole team.

 

Drivers- Jenson Button Team Leader - Knows how to keep his cool, good community relationship, fast enough to score consistent points in cars that are less than stellar without all the drama, should be able to develop the car.

Daniel Ricciardo as number 2 -Fast enough to beat Jenson, young enough to be groomed into a consistent winner, positive attitude, can be dangerous when given a fast car.

Edit-After 2 years or so under Button, promote Ricciardo to lead driver and bring in fresh blood or new blood. Bottas maybe.

 

Ricciardo and Bottas to build a new team of driver's that have NOT been WDC, and will hopefully be hungry enough to want to win.

Then I'd steal a page from Red Bull and have a 2nd team, buy the Marussia assets and license to compete in 2015, and use as my Alfa Romeo-Dodge Brothers-FIAT development team insert-sponsor-name-here.

 

For me this thread has been a very interesting drill. In law school terms, almost everyone who has posted has failed. We were trained to answer the question that was asked, not more, not less, and certainly not the question we wanted to answer.
Everyone, I asked you to pick your team leader to see who you thought was the best driver. Answers were all over the place.

 

Team leader - Alonso or vettel tasked with simply driving the crap out of the car and centring development on their needs alone. Number one contract, no messing, teammate guaranteed not to get in the way.

Give either of them the car and they are ruthless enough to win everything, give them a rubbish car, they can't

I want a Ferrari world champion, I could care less about the show

 

For me, the best team leader isn't the best driver. Given Ferrari's current state, i want someone level headed who can help develop the car with minimal drama and then a very talented number 2 to learn and become the future face of the company. There are certainly faster people than button, but i think he'd be the best to guide people through.

Maybe Vettel, but i don't think he's that impressive and was just very fortunate to be in the car he was in.