It was also a special occasion as it is twenty years ago, on the 15 December to be precise, that Montezemolo took on the role of Ferrari President, a position he had been appointed to a month earlier by the Fiat Group.

Montezemolo also did a rapid historical roundup: “In 1991, we sold 2,300 cars, today it’s over 7,000. We exported to 20 countries which has become 58, with a ten fold increase in turnover. We have a theme park in Abu Dhabi and we are negotiating the construction of a further two, one of them in Korea, even if nothing has actually been fixed yet. We have to be very pleased with what we have achieved and the next twenty years will see a Ferrari that is still very innovative on the road car front and that will continue racing as long as the races, Formula 1 first and foremost, provide the opportunity for advanced research for our cars.”

Clearly, the political climate and the future of Formula 1 also came up for comment. “We have left FOTA of our own accord and without consulting anyone else, because we were tired of the compromises dragging it down,” explained Montezemolo. “And let’s be clear, if one is part of a club then everyone has to respect its rules, otherwise what’s the point? However, I still believe that we can have a common vision between the biggest teams when it comes to the future and I will push to the maximum to seek out common objectives. All we want are clear rules and interpretations. Situations like the one in Silverstone must not happen again, when the rules changed three times over the course of a grand prix weekend: on that occasion, Ferrari decided to sacrifice its own interests to avoid a fall out that would have damaged Formula 1, with all the accompanying comments that we did not want the agreement because we were not competitive…However, there were some who preferred to only think of their own interests.”