Ferrari should be 'protagonists, not extras’, says disappointed ex-chairman
Di Montezemolo, who oversaw Ferrari and Michael Schumacher’s period of F1 domination in the early 2000s, stepped down from his long-time role amid a poor 2014 season.
Ferrari last won a world championship in 2008, while Kimi Raikkonen remains the last driver to win a drivers’ world title for F1’s most famous team, in 2007.
The team threatened to challenge Red Bull last year but saw their title bid collapse in spectacular fashion mid-season, leaving Max Verstappen to cruise to the championship. Ferrari have fallen even further adrift in 2023.
Di Montezemolo says he expected more from Ferrari in the decade that has passed since his departure.
“As a fan I dream of a Ferrari not that always wins, but that fights for the title until the last race,” he told Quotidiano Nazionale.
“As in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2008, 2010, 2012. You can lose, but as protagonists, not as extras.”
The Italian believes Ferrari need to tie down Charles Leclerc for as long as possible but says the Maranello outfit’s problem is not their drivers.
“He’s good and I don’t think there are free riders stronger than him,” Di Montezemolo said of Leclerc.
“But in the present who drives the red is the least of the problems. As president I had built a dream team, from Schumi to [Jean] Todt, from [Ross] Brawn to [Rory] Byrne.”
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