Big question mark for 2023 at Ferrari now. It looks like the CEO, Vigna, is about as unrealistic as Binotto.
Yep, Domenicali (while at Lamborghini) came out with the Urus. Ferrari followed suit years later. Then the Lamborghini Sian and Ferrari followed suit years later with the 296. Electric is the "feel good" aphrodisiac at the moment with car companies. Next will be hydrogen powered cars.
Hydrogen won't work...storage of hydrogen is under pressure, any half decent accident is not something I'd like to be near to... Full electric is also not the answer, there isn't a powergrid on the planet that's anywhere near supporting a complete switch to electric daily driven cars. IMO the real answer is a true hybrid mix: Cars to be electric/hybrids. Fuel initially as it is now, then move to a mix of traditional petrol mixed with X percent zero carbon fuel and just keep increasing the zero carbon fuel as supply capabilities improve. EU already scrapped the euro 7 target (quietly), after modifying it to be pure electric to "zero carbon". I.e. a car can be pure ICE V12 petrol engine, so long it's fueled with zero carbon fuel. IMO the initial targets set was to force car companies to move to far too expensive (in terms of tooling, research etc) electric vehicles or they'd be out of business. They'd never do it otherwise. It was a push that the governments felt was needed. This whole work from home thing has also accelerated somewhat, and where applicable is a reasonably decent solution as well. Fewer cars on the road, obviously less fuel used, but also fewer traffic jams pointlessly poluting. Driving into work much quicker, too...
Funniest thing I have read in a while Lapo would run that team into the ground faster than you can say 'Plan A'
Well, Toyota ran a hydrogen powered car in a 24 hour race. There was another hydrogen powered car at the 24 hours of LeMans. They're developing hydrogen powered jet engines as well. The technology is still in its infancy. Agree on the powered grid and all EV's.
I was talking about his comment regarding Ferrari winning the title next year. Like it or not, all road cars in Europe will be electric soon. It won't be by choice; it has already been voted and accepted in most countries. The Golden Age of the motor car is behind us.
I think there are a number of issues at play. 1. new formula so I think Ferrari were surprised by the early form - and did not know how to capitalize on it...Binotto had never been in that situation before 2. Aero rules - some loop holes were closed to Ferrari that they did not anticipate or figure out and that moved the balance to RB... again lack of design foresight. 3. Very poor pit work. this is about the easiest to work on and fix - you just practice over and over again. review video, practice ... 4. Strategy. Very hard one, I think as the year wore on, the car used its tires differently and the team just did not understand that wear - so we're always using new data.... and perhaps communication with Italy was an issue vs. having on-site decisions. Also, a lack of work with the drivers on what they were feeling - needing at the beginning of the season was a real problem. as the season wore on - they went with the drivers feeling much more. 5. No clear #1. the refusal to nominate Leclerc as #1 drivers and have Sainz support him, a major issue. this needs to be settled early on by some form of a negotiated deal between the drivers and team - whoever gets to x points first gets #1 etc... its a hard one, but Binotto is clearly at fault here. 6. Not being real - the finger wag at Leclerc was horrible in the press, and showed the behind-the-scenes for all to see, and then the complete corporate speak afterward..... this just makes drivers and team personnel doubt its leadership, and erodes trust and morale....
You know what, though? The guy doesn’t look like he takes himself too seriously and he really has a passion for the brand, so would let those with talent get on with their work. Also, he seems to understand when the team has f’d up strategically and was vocal about this in some tweets during the year. Finally, imagine the crazy parties he would throw for his sponsors, ha-ha. Better than anything the tech moguls in Silicon Valley can throw together.
I know the comment was made tongue-in-cheek so I offer my commentary with a smile. Lapo is a comical train wreck and I would not trust him to get me a taxi let alone run a race team. I agree the parties would be epic but I suspect you would find him dead before the series returns to Europe.
The root cause of this is the inability to see and admit you have a problem. If he truly thought he could explain away every dumb decision from the strategy team then nothing would and nothing has been fixed. This is also the result of not seeing any problem with 4. (poor strategy calls) and some weird ideas about not prioritizing the chances of the fastest driver—see also how LEC wasn’t allowed to pass VET early in 2019 even though he was clearly faster.
Yes, definitely tongue-in-cheek but just pointing out a couple of characteristics that Binotto’s successor should have that Binotto obviously lacked: real passion and awareness of racing strategy.
Nominating a #1 driver isn't something that can be done on the hoof. The whole set up, #1, team orders, and the overall team precedence has to be decided between the team and the 2 drivers, or it is dishonest to both of them. It has to be mentioned in the contract at the time of recruitment , so that every party knows where it stands. It's sometimes said that the salary indicates the precedence in a team, but any driver should be allowed to compete to the best of his ability, and progress his career, not being on a leash. The lack of transparency on that issue creates tension among team mates.