Ferrari Boss Admits That the Team Suffers Corporate Interference in Maranello – “The Right Culture Just Left Us”

Ferrari executive chairman John Elkann has admitted that his side have struggled recently because their F1 team is often involved with the commercial side of things. In a conversation with the BBC, the Italian businessman explained how “the right culture left” the team following the departure of former team principals Jean Todt and Stefano Domenicali.

Conversations about the corporate side interfering with the F1 team began after Ferrari sacked Mattia Binotto last year. Many believed that Ferrari should have given the Italian engineer another chance since a lot depended on Ferrari’s commercial side of activities.

The Ferrari chairman then also explained how his side followed a “no blame” culture for the longest of times. “We haven’t had that culture since Jean Todt and then Stefano [Domenicali, Todt’s successor] were leading. It just left us,” he said.

Notably, Red Bull Christian Horner also mentioned Ferrari as the national team of Italy. Therefore, the Italian media’s influence on the team makes it difficult for them to steer things on their own and compete independently against Mercedes and Red Bull.

How did Ferrari suffer following the departure of top leaders?

Ferrari’s glory days were over after Michael Schumacher, Jean Todt, Stefano Domenicali, Ross Brawn, and many renowned names left the team over the years. It is also important to note how former team principal Brawn kept Luca di Montezemolo at arm’s length to give the Prancing Horse their most successful reign from 2000 to 2004.

John Elkann also praised how fluid things were under Todt’s leadership. The Ferrari chairman explained how under the Frenchman, the team had a clear path to success. However, in recent times, such as in 2020, things have gone extremely downhill for the team.

Speaking of this, Elkann revealed, “We feel very proud to be one company, which is something that particularly in the last years we have been trying to encourage. But that is also linked to having clear accountability and responsibility.”

From winning multiple back-to-back drivers’ and Constructors’ championships, the Maranello-based team is having a very long winless streak. The Italian team won their last championship back in 2008, and have been trying for the same for over a decade now.