Interesting read.....Planet F1 Todt Gets The Ferrari Bullet Monday 12th November 2007 And so the dream team is no more - the men that re-established Ferrari as the undisputed best team in F1 have all gone their separate ways. Designer Rory Byrne has retired, Michael Schumacher has also retired and today we learned that Ross Brawn is leaving the Scuderia and that Jean Todt is being replaced. And whereas two went of their own accord, you have to guess that the other two didn't go quite the way they wanted to. Because after Ross Brawn announced that he was joining Honda, Ferrari quickly cobbled together a press release to say what their future structure would be, when previously they had said the announcement would be late in December. Sporting Director Stefano Domenicali will take Jean Todt's position as head of the Ferrari race team or, as he's known in Maranello, Director of the Gestione Sportiva. Ferrari also said technical director Mario Almondo (a man more at home with personnel and whose move to technical director so enraged Nigel Stepney that he started leaking data to McLaren) will now be the team's operations director, while Aldo Costa will take on the role of technical director. The rushed announcement made it look like Ferrari were covering off the assumption that with Brawn not going back to the team, Todt would continue as head of the race team. Previously Brawn had said that he would only return to Ferrari if he was given the top job - ie Todt's. In the end it has gone to someone with much less experience than either Brawn or Todt, but Domenicali is an Italian in an Italian team. After the shockwaves of Stepneygate, Montezemolo has made the Scuderia very Italian. We first noticed something awry when Brawn's expected return to the Ferrari structure wasn't announced at the Italian GP at Monza, as scheduled. Around about the same time Jean Todt started making noises along the lines that Ross wasn't essential to the running of the team and that he had been well-rewarded for his contributions over the years - a strange thing to say about someone about to return. He also let it be known that he had absolutely no plans of retiring from the race team, which made it appear that it was going to be a "him or me" scenario and president Luca Montezemolo (the di in his name is an affectation) would have to choose. When we learned that Felipe Massa (managed by Todt's son Nicolas) had been signed to a three-year contract in the week of the Brazilian GP, Andrew Davies immediately predicted that Todt would be leaving at the end of the season. The reasoning was this - Ferrari had all the time in the world to arrange an extension of Massa's contract, why would they do it just at a time when Fernando Alonso might be coming free. Unless of course Todt's influence was about to run out. When Montezemolo protested that it wasn't Todt's idea, to re-sign Massa till 2010, it was his own, it didn't ring very true. It made no business sense to tie the Scuderia's hands at a time when they could pick up the third best driver in F1. Now we know that Todt IS leaving. A few weeks ago, when Montezemolo said they would delay announcing the new structure of the team till around Christmas, it then became likely that Ferrari were not going to re-employ Brawn. Why wait till the season is about to start when Ross could be doing vital work on the 2008 car. The fact is the Scuderia have done very well this season without Brawn at the helm and Ross's links with Nigel Stepney can't have helped his case. But in letting him go, they've allowed a prodigious talent to work for another well-backed team. Stefano Domenicali was probably happy to hang around in his role as sporting director for a few years longer, so they could have installed Ross as team boss with minor ruffling of egos. As it is, Ross will regenerate the Honda team and help them take points off Ferrari. In a bizarre way, the race to be Director of the Gestione Sportiva has echoed the drivers' title race. With three grands prix to go, it looked like the current holder, Todt, was going to be pushed all the way by the younger man, Brawn. In the end, neither of them got it, and the unexpected figure of Domenicali came from nowhere. Unlike the drivers' title, there's going to be no appeal. Frank Hopkinson
Nonsense! Yeah ferrari have just let a nobody take the wheel of the team and Massa is only there to please Todt? Believe it or not there is lots of talent and brains in the ferrari camp and the boss knows a thing or two about running a company. Ferrari are at the top and at the top they'll stay.
i smell a whole lotta bullshiiit here. the team proved in 2007 that they're winners. even w/out Brawn. sure, some embarassing things did happen when Brawn wasn't around, but that was a new team altogether. the team will be more matured next year.
I hate to rain on the parade but Ferrari succeeded in the past 10 years for the very fact that they put non-Italians in charge and they eliminated the internal politics that handicapped the team for so many years. I don't know whether the Stepney matter ultimately prevented Brawn from returning to the team, given that Stepney was one of "his" guys, but I think that the void created by not having Brawn in charge is the most destructive element of the management team of the Schumacher eraleaving. Byrne's retirement, Schumacher's retirement and even Todt being pushed aside pale in comparison to the loss of Ross Brawn. I firmly believe that the team would have walked away with the title this year had Brawn not left the team. For certain the distraction of Stepneygate would never have occured. I foresee a return to the dark days if this new management team turns out to be anything like that last time the Italins ran the team.
I agree and I fear the return of those dreadful Sunday mornings again. I can only hope that you and I are both wrong about this and that Ferrari does indeed knows what they are doing.
...Although I agree with you, Italians now have to prove they are good enough...back when only italians ran it we were not only slow...we were a shame for the italians... many things here seem to be true like Andreas remarked in some other posts...like the nicolas todt stuff and Massas contract extention...but I can see LDM goal...the all italian team geting rid of British and the like... I´ll say one thing... Rory Byrne retired and everybody thought Aldo Costa couldnt do his job just as good. Shumi retired and Kimmi and Massa took over...they are doing quite a job now... ...Ross retired, and Baldissieri "almost" left no dubt we needed him instead of the BigROSS...but he succeded in the end. so Baldisieri stays.-I dont like the guy- ...Now Todts right hand, Domenicali takes over Todts gig... Everyone fear changes, but Luca has shown he has something special running the house, ALONG WITH TODT and if the changes are made in this fashion, -putting my Italian root aside- they have the people, they have a good team structure and they are respecting just that... from my point of view.they will succeed.
Those nameplates peel right off the door, don't they??!?? I gave up reapplying double stick to mine, and just stuck it to my toolbox...LOL! Luca is King........"it's good to be the King." Seems so long ago a V10 Honda Tech dropped my Maranello and showed them how to keep the engines together, beginning the rise of the current period of Glory.........
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the new structure. Todt will still be Domenicali's boss, just not along the pit wall. All through this year Todt has allowed this man to call the shots, now he will do it in the public's eye. If Todt were not happy with this decision, you can bet he would have resigned from Ferrari in a heartbeat. Montezemelo may be crass, but he is not stupid. He is keeping Todt, while enforcing and "promoting from within" if you will, the team that pulled itself together to win the WDC on the track and the WCC off the track. I think they will do even better in 2008. Other than personal negativity, there is no reason to believe that the Scuderia will not continue as they did the last 2-3 races and be a front runner in what will likely be one of the most competitive seasons in the last 10 years. I find credibiltiy to be lost when I read BS about Massa and Alonso concerning Ferrari. Raikkonen/Massa is the strongest team at this time, Alonso has shown he can not work on a team with an equally strong teammate, so can that thought for 2009 or 2010. As long as Kimi is on the team, there will be no Alonso at Ferrari. Brawn was offered Todt's role that Domenicall will now occupy, with a substantial monetary reward. But as Brawn himself has stated, there was no challenge at Ferrari as the team has proven itself without him. He doesn't need the money, he could retire today. At Honda, given a principle's role, a reward based on performance, and with fellow countryman Button and close friend Ruben's, Brawn will find a real challenge that if successful will reward this 50+ year old genius in his final career stint. Sure, for sentimental reasons I would like to have seen Brawn back at Ferrari. I am happy for him, he deserves the challenge and if successful it will put him at the very pinnacle of F1 engineers of all time. So why can't we accept the fact that nothing except titles just changed at Ferrari, and that Brawn made a great move for himself? Ferrari will continue to be at the top, while now we may see a Honda in the mix with BMW, Renault, McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari. 2008 will be an incredible season. Of course I want to see Ferrari win, but I derived immense pleasure to see Kimi win the WDC as he did at the very last race and not some cakewalk that would affect viewership, and possibly Speedvision' desire to renew their contract. Nobody else would carry F1 live, it is a revenue loser for American TV. Competition brings viewship which brings advertising dollars which makes for a potentially profitable broadcast. If BMW or Red Bull won the 2008 WCC, it would be good for the sport. Survival of the sport depends on such competition. As far as I am concerned, all is well at the Scuderia, and I can't wait for 2008 to begin.
An impromtu press conference in response to Brawn sighing with Honda. Todt signs his son's client to 3 years when Massa wasn't going anywhere and LdM's agreeing with this dose not ring true. You can only swing the axe so many times in one day and not show your hand. The Stepheny thing is deeper in the guts of Ferrari F1 than would be wise to admit. Todt's gone by 1/1/08.
Welcome back, Ron! I also agree, 'Alonso at Ferrari'?? Those guys need to drop the crack pipe!!! Massa has the passion, The Iceman has the cool. 'Nuff said!
Fact: Todt alone could not approve the renewing of Massa's contract. It required Luca's approval as he has the right to veto. Knowing this no wizardry, it's corporate common sense. Again, no one here has any factual information that would relegate Massa to second rate or Alonso to Ferrari in the next 3 years. Neither opinion of that nature makes any sense whatsoever. Massa has proven himself quite well, and Alonso will not race along side of Raikkonen unless Kimi is designated #2. And that will happen when Hell freezes over. Better yet, that will happen when Alonso joins Andreas' slot car team.
+1...I'm not certain this move will benefit Ferrari. When I first heard of the turn of events, my immediate thought was "Oh, no!...". I'll wait like everyone else to see how things work out, but it seems that Luca broke up a winning formula solely in the name of change. I will admit that Brawn's return felt less likely once Stepney went about pilfering and filtering confidential team information. I guess just as obvious was the fact that Montezemola and Todt were in a tremendous battle of the egos, and it was pretty clear who would win that. But, just like Schumacher's "retirement" (forced), I wonder if these decisions will come back to haunt Luca. Yeah, he has a mostly Italian team now, but will that give way to the politics that plagued the team 20 years prior to the Todt, Byrnes, Schumacher and Brawn "Dream Team"? We'll see.
-1 Kimi, unlike Schumacher, has never cared who his teammate is. Alonso signed with McLaren expecting Kimi to be his teammate. He was long ago on the record stating he has no problem teaming up with Kimi and given that he expected to be teammates with him in 2007, he clearly has no issue with driving alongside him.
We must not forget that on the last 20 years they have British, Austrian, an even Argentinian chief designers, so I think that the stuff of the Italian bosses is not the problem here. It´s funny that when Paolo Martinelli left the team and put a Frenchman in his place many people here were worried.
...exactly that happened with Byrne/Aldo Costa there is no big bang...just some strategic moves for the better interest of the team. And if Ferrari F1 is good on Italian Heads, so be it...but they have a huge responsability over their heads, prove half the motorsport fans as well as tifosis wrong.
I fully agree with Ron that it is impossible for JT to make a driver contract without the approval of LM.
Judging from Alonso's previous track records, both at Renault in 2006 and now McLaren in 2007, I would agrue that he does care who his teammate is. He made the fuss about unequal equipments and that the team was not backing him for the driver's title because he will be and ultimately did take the number 1 with him to McLaren. And in 2007, time and time again he has stated that he should be and wants the number one status on McLaren over Hamilton. I would say that Alonso does not care who his teammate is, only if he has the undisputed number one status on the team. As for Kimi, let's not forget that his signing with Ferrari was put in motion long ago. Many, including myself believe that McLaren knew Kimi was leaving and thus their pursuit of Alonso, with Alonso knowing that Kimi was not going to be at McLaren as his teammate.
+1, I do too. ...by the way, Any inch further and those drivers will be elected by the people of ITALY... being a Ferrari Race Driver is like being a local city Major
