Sergio Marchionne quote in the WSJ regarding F1

"I think I've thrown all the money I'd like to throw at that thing" Ferrari posted a 20% jump in its third quarter profit. Due to higher volume,price increases,and cost reductions in F1 racing. GTS Bruce

 

Actually... I don't blame him all that much. Getting close to a decade of mediocrity that's only gotten worse. He's a businessman. His opinion is sound. When you're regularly challenged by Force India at a fraction the budget and prize money... I mean c'mon.

I love Ferrari, but their constant excuses... the constant... "we have everything in place... this time" or the "things take time" nonsense... it's gotten old and frankly somewhat sad.

 

"That thing"???

"That thing" is THE THING!!

 

One has to question if F1 is worth an open cheque book approach now that Bernie has finally utterly buggered it.
Pete

 

After a Tesla repeated challenged me to race during a Sunday drive, it occurred to me that "that thing" may not be "the thing" much longer.

 

okay, but electric 'racing' has zero appeal. we just might be witnessing the end of F1 as a relevant sport. i would say motogp is far more relevant to the manufacturers than F1 is and i'm a longtime F1 fan - somewhat bored now.

 

Read the rest of the conference call transcript for the full horror story - must have been discussed here already. Full hybrid by 2019, if I recall correctly.

 

The sweater is a repulsive creature ruining the brand that I love. Is the only way to stop him turning my back on the brand I love ?!?!?!

 

We all forget he's not a car guy. He's an accountant.

He talks just like one.

 

We don't forget. It's rubbed in our face with every moronic thing he says. When McLaren gets their act together which will be sooner rather than later Ferrari will have major issues. McLaren have not lost focus like Ferrari have. I have never said anything like this before because I don't really like McLaren that much however the handwriting is on the wall.

 

I can't find the article. What section?

 

For those who don't want to go hunting for the WSJ article:

 

+1

 

If he's "ruining the brand" then why is the company doing so well? Sure, it's different, but it's definitely pushing the right buttons with its target market...

 

Uh, maybe the "difference" is what's being referenced. KERS and flat sounding turbo 6s, wings that open, ets., etc., etc. is the "different" brand that's really causing me to turn my back on the brand I loved....

 

Luca was the best thing that happened to Ferrari...Sweater the worst!!

 

+1

 

As a friend, native to Maranello, said to me during one of my last visits about Marchionne:

"His name is Italian, but he is no longer Italian. He has spent too much time in Switzerland."

 

+1 Seems apparent sales mean nothing to racing. There is no correlation overtly. Ferrari can sell all its cars without good F1 results and probably without F1 at all ...now. Im not shocked at his comment. He's 'run' the numbers. Its not a good thing to race fans but Ferrari is a business not a race team...is it.

 

I think his comment about "throwing all the Money at that thing" is a wake up call to the F-1 guys... the check book is no longer un limited, and you have to perform.... or else.

some fear is good, but I think there is too much. Ferrari F-1 needs to pay according to performance ... its a well known fact in F-1 that you go to Ferrari to get rich vs. actually win... the lifestyle is great, money fantastic .. if you win great - but you make your retirement at Ferrari... the old man was like that as well... he'd pay big, but expected bigger... sadly the Barnard years were not good because Mr. Ferrari was so ill... the folks who came after him thought that was the secret - get big names and pay them well... sadly that does not work.

on the road car side. ... more cars = more commoditized product... = lower resale prices on the current cars which I love ... so I can find a 458 in the next 3-4 years in my price range.

conversely - 80's era cars will become more and more rare.. and values will go up... love it!

 

That's actually true. The Schumacher years were an exception to that.
But they may never be repeated ever again.

 

+100

The Ferrari brand and road cars sell themselves. Given the current customer base I can't imagine more than a small fraction being aware of the F1 team's performance.

Toyota and BMW showed us that an unlimited checkbook is not enough. Honda/Mercedes/Brawn/Toto and Ferrari/Todt showed that proper leadership is necessary along with the budget.

There are at least five people in the F1 paddock I think off that would have been more suitable than a tobacco marketing man. Imo, Marco Mattiachi would have been very effective but he was never given a chance.

 

I thought the same in the 90s: "modern F1 is too big for Ferrari". And then the Risorgimento happened.

The worse thing they could do is stop trying.

BTW, we shouldn´t forget that there were 10 "exceptions" to the Schumacher era, just in F1. Those are a lot of "exceptions" to be just fluke.

 

Renault is building an all new engine for 2017. Even they seem to be more committed to win. Ferrari just seemed more concerned that that they're not winner as opposed to why they aren't winning. That's over simplistic but its how it appears. They all seem puzzled why theyre not but seem to be doing half measures or relying on small tweaks.

 

I've always believed the history was that Enzo built cars to sell to support his racing endeavor.

Was this just legend?