Ferrari needs time, according to former chairman: 'Matter of rebuilding'

Former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo thinks it will take a very long time for Ferrari to get back to the top. Quoted by FormulaPassion, Montezemolo looks at the current state of his old team and argues that team boss Vasseur is not getting a fair chance at the moment.

Montezemolo, who had still worked with Enzo Ferrari, became chairman of Ferrari in 1991 and immediately began reviving the brand's Formula 1 division. Under his leadership, the likes of Jean Todt, Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne, Stefano Domenicali, and Michael Schumacher were brought to the team. During his time at the helm, Ferrari won the constructors' title eight times and the driver's title six times.

"Seeing Ferrari like this saddens me ," Montezemolo acknowledges. "Ferrari, along with my family, is the most important thing in my life. To ask why they are not winning feels like a dagger blow." The Italian racing stable is currently fourth among constructors and is experiencing its worst start to the season since 2009.

Vasseur is going to need more time, according to Montezemolo

Although the period with Montezemolo in charge is often seen as Ferrari's glory era, the former chief executive points out that it did not happen by itself either. The first title came only eight years after he took office. Montezemolo therefore stresses that new team boss Frederic Vasseur, who only started this calendar year, probably also needs a bit more time than what is given to him now.

"I don't think this crisis can be solved in the short term," Montezemolo analyses. "It is a matter of reconstruction, we have to get the best technicians together. In my time there was also a serious crisis at first, but a team was built. But even if you start bringing in some technicians of different nationalities, you also have to change the culture in the company in the areas where it is needed. So I thought the triumphant speeches this winter were wrong, I was expecting a car that was an evolution of last year's."