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Sunday was
the day for the traditional Christmas lunch for all
Scuderia Ferrari personnel, which again this year was
held in the Logistica building, next to the Fiorano
track. It was also an opportunity for the Ferrari
President, Luca di Montezemolo to look back over the
past season.
“This has been a
very bad year, not up to Ferrari’s usual standard,” were his
opening words. “There were several reasons, but we have a
history and a culture of not looking for excuses. None of us
is happy with the ways things went: we were hardly ever
competitive enough to fight for the win and that is not our
style. However, every one of us has the will and the ability
to react and get back, not just to being very competitive,
but also to winning. The symbol of our desire to fight back
is really Felipe, who knew how to deal with a very difficult
and dramatic situation and all of us can take that as our
example next year. It has also been a bad year outside the
sport, because we do not just live in our own little world.
We had to make decisions, some of them painful, but we have
continued to invest in the future of the company because we
firmly believe that this time of crisis can be turned into
an opportunity for growth. We have to look to the future
with confidence, but without ever forgetting our roots, such
as Enzo Ferrari himself, because we must always remember
where we came from. I am happy to be here with you, because
this is an important opportunity to talk to all of you and
not just those who are under the spotlight, because what
gives Ferrari its strength are the people and the pride they
take in being part of this company, the pleasure they get
from working here and the way they get upset when we don’t
win!”
Montezemolo also
thanked the drivers who were present – from Giancarlo
Fisichella for his great efforts and “for having clearly
shown just how uncompetitive was the F60,” to Luca Badoer
who, “without any thought for himself, threw himself at the
task of standing in for Felipe, without being able to
prepare himself properly,” to Marc Gene, “for the
intelligence he demonstrated, for his work both on and off
the track, with our owners,” and those who were absent, like
Kimi Raikkonen. “I’m sorry he’s not here today,” said
Montezemolo, referring to the Finnish driver. “All the same,
I wish to thank him on behalf of all of us for what he
achieved in his three years with Ferrari. He staked his
place in our history by winning the title in his first
season, which was partly thanks to help from Felipe, to whom
he repaid the compliment the following year. And in this
difficult season just gone, he managed to score our only win
of the year. I wish him the very best for the future.”
There was a
special mention for someone who had been part of Ferrari’s
history for the past sixteen years who, for the first time
since 1993, was not present at this event, namely Jean Todt.
“We can look forward with confidence to changes in Formula
1, because today, steering the FIA, we have a competent
person that we all like a lot. I wish to take this
opportunity to give him, on behalf of all of us, our very
best wishes.”
Montezemolo also
spoke of the near future for the Scuderia: “We will have a
car that meets the Ferrari standard, thanks to all your
efforts and the support of our partners. They too have
played a vital role, in bringing both commercial backing, as
is the case with Philip Morris, who have been with us for
such a long period, in both the good and the bad times, and
those excellent companies who give us technical support,
such as Shell, with whom we have won at every level. We will
have a great driver pairing: we know Felipe well and we know
how much he wants to make up for this year. Fernando Alonso
joins Ferrari at the best possible time for him and for the
team. We will have a strong and determined team, which has
proved it can react when the going gets tough, made up of
skilled people who really want to win again. I thank you in
advance for your efforts, while the congratulations will
have to wait for next year!”
Montezemolo
ended by speaking in his capacity as President of Telethon,
given that the lunch and the television marathon on RAI was
taking place at the same time. “Ferrari has always had links
to research into muscular dystrophy because Dino, our
founder’s first son, died of this terrible illness. Today,
Telethon is supporting medical research into similar genetic
disorders and I am pleased to announce that, in the name of
Ferrari, I will be making a donation to support Telethon and
I invite you to do the same, as solidarity has always been a
trait of the men and women in our company.”
ItaliaspeedTV:
Ferrari Christmas Party, Maranello
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Felipe Massa & Marc Gene interview
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