“It Has to Become a Racing Team”: Christian Horner Explains How Ferrari’s Lack of Leadership is Costing Them Dearly

Ferrari have struggled repeatedly over the past few seasons as they have not won a Constructors’ Championship since 2008. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes that his rival side’s lack of success recently has been because the Italian outfit is no longer “a racing team“. The Briton believes that the Prancing Horse lack leadership as there are too many people involved in their decision-making process.

Horner discussed about the same with Dax Shephard on the Eff Won with DRS podcast when he said (as quoted by speedweek.com), “I think Ferrari’s biggest problem is that it is a national team. It has to become a racing team again“.

The 49-year-old then explained how Ferrari take too long to make their decisions by adding, “It’s an Italian institution and there are probably too many people having a say there. Everyone gives their input and has something to say“.

However, when it comes to Red Bull, Horner believes that their strength is to “change quickly” according to the needs of the situation. The Briton stated that even if they make a wrong decision, they do not take too long to change it.

Meanwhile, Ferrari seemingly also suffered from a power struggle at the start of the 2023 season.

Instability has hurt Ferrari

After just a few weeks into the 2023 season, reports already emerged that there was a power struggle going on in Ferrari between team principal Fred Vasseur and CEO Benedetto Vigna. When quizzed about the same, the Frenchman said (as quoted by si.com), “I find it difficult to understand why the team becomes a target after only one race“.

Another major distraction that Ferrari also had to deal with during the course of the 2023 season was about reports that claimed that Carlos Sainz may leave the team. Reports had claimed that the Spaniard had given an ultimatum to Ferrari that he will only carry on with the team if Charles Leclerc left.

Since Ferrari is such a big team and are always in the news, Christian Horner believes that the media also creates huge pressure on the Italian outfit. On the same Eff Won with DRS podcast, the Briton explained how the media has a huge role to play in the way Ferrari operates as a team and makes their decisions.