Luca di Montezemolo "angry" - Ferrari "without a soul; lacks a leader"
Luca di Montezemolo is unimpressed with how Ferrari is being run today.
Former Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo says the Prancing Horse is lacking “leadership” after a challenging start to the 2025 Formula 1 season.
While Lewis Hamilton scored a brilliant victory from pole position in the sprint race in Shanghai, Ferrari is yet to finish on a podium in a grand prix this season.
After the opening three rounds of the season, the Maranello-based squad sits a distant fourth in the standings with just 35 points on board, compared to 111 for the championship-leading McLaren team.
The Bahrain GP weekend has also proved to be a mixed bag so far, despite Ferrari bringing a sizeable upgrade. While Charles Leclerc is due to start on the front row after a penalty for Mercedes’ George Russell, Hamilton could qualify no higher than ninth in the other SF-25.
Ex-Ferrari boss criticises F1 team
Montezemolo, who presided over Ferrari from the early 1990s to mid-2010s, gave a brutal verdict about the team’s current state in F1.
“This is a team that at certain times lacks a leader, lacks leadership in the broader sense,” the 77-year-old told Sky Italia.
“Anyway, I am happy that Leclerc starts from the second row but the race is a different story.”
Montezemolo made those comments in Bahrain, as he returned to the F1 paddock for the first time since the 2014 Italian GP.
Since his departure, Ferrari has gone through several major changes, with the car company having been spun off from the rest of the Fiat Chrysler group (now part of Stellantis) and the F1 team now being run by Frederic Vasseur.
The Italian said Ferrari lacks the passion it was once famous for, describing it as a “team without a soul”.
“Coming back is an emotion because ten years is a long time, and also because I hope to bring good luck to Ferrari, which really needs it right now,” he told Italian TV TG1.
“How do I feel as a fan? Sad because I see a team without a soul. Ferrari is passion, Ferrari is working day and night, Ferrari is never giving up. And I am also a little angry because I was hoping that at least this year we would see a truly competitive car from the start.”
