Ferrari has fallen way short of their expectations this year, with the race team yet to see the chequered flag first. Sweeping changes were made to the team after a poor 2014 campaign, could the axe of change be ready to swing again at Maranello?
Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne spent time at the factory last week to understand where the team can improve, and it appears that he has decided to take control of the situation himself. Marchionne’s intervention appears to be as a result of a breakdown in relations with team principal Maurizio Arrivabene, and technical director James Allison.
Reports from the team have surfaced that Marchionne is now heading up meetings with technical teams and taking strategic decisions in terms of the sporting management team. This was inevitable given the high performance standards the Ferrari CEO set the Red Team for 2016, which so far have been missed by the proverbial country Italian kilometre.
Ferrari could have won races this season but for poor strategy calls and they are now being hunted down quickly by a resurgent Red Bull Racing. The season is becoming an embarrassment to Sergio Marchionnne given the nigh on unlimited investment in resources he has provided.
Key personnel within the team are questioning key members of the Ferrari leadership team, and within the last hour, the latest report from Italy’s Gazzetta is that James Allison is set to be leave the team imminently by mutual consent.
The problem is… who will be next to grasp the poisoned chalice?
And if Sergio Marchionne is micro managing the Scuderia, few are likely to put up their hands.
Rumours continue in the Italian media that Ross Brawn has been called upon, though certain English speaking F1 media ‘sources’ deny Brawn is returning to F1. Then again there is the highly rated Toro Rosso technical director James Key, who could also be asked to fill the impending void.
Stay tuned for a summer of more Maranello Madness!
I hope not, JA has not really had chance to show what he can do, a few years is a blink when you develop a machine and sadly after his loss this year he couldn’t have devoted so much time and focus. The car this year has shown potential and the motor,although fragile, is a big step in the right direction. As the article states its been let down with some very poor calls and this has been a knock on effect for the drivers. The problem isn’t the team as such but more a legacy of how the team is run but the main issue boils down to three othing..limited spending\testing allowed as this was how Ferrari of the past solved problems and the fact they are up against a far superior power pack in the Merc powered teams..that thing is light years ahead of the following pack
Brawn has said No again and Key is not going anywhere soon.
It could be that James Allison wants to go back to England for family reasons. Or maybe the rumors from Italy are all hype. In either case that thing called “communication” has been badly handled in Maranello. Having hired former journalist from the weekly Autosprint, Alberto Antonini, hasn’t helped much, I would say. Just before him they had a guy called Colajanni who always reminded me of press officers from around 1895.
Looks like Alonso’s decision to leave Ferrari was not so bad after all. They are also not winning, neither are Mclaren.
I assume that Allison has been designing their 2017 car that we have heard little about. The new car will be a chance for Ferrari to catch up a liitle to Mercedes. However if Allison has not been 100% comitted to the project for whatever reasons and someone else will have to pick up the pieces, then next season could see Ferrari reverting to type with a lot of hot tempered latins shouting at each other! Ross Brawn can probably walk on water but I doubt he or anyone else he could sort out the mess in the short term if Allison really is leaving.
Italy’s Gazzetta always seems to be a huge joke when it comes to reports of what is going on with Ferrari. I see all the time that “so and so is leaving” and they never seem to be true. Ross has come out and said that Ferrari should keep Allison and I believe that Ferrari would trust Ross enough to keep him. Also, I am a bit tired of the click bait headlines on this site. They are getting old…
What a surprise… comment was posted, then deleted
This would be very bad news. But his wanting to go back to the UK reason is a very good one and none of us can hold it against him.
it is impossible to declare what makes for a perfect blend of a perfect team. past success means so very little. in the restaurant biz, I have had a #1 store with 8 suoer stars. have also had a #2 store with ZERO super stars and have been fired from another with 12 super star employees where I just couldn’t make it happen.
so, I cannot say exactly what the issues are at Ferrari, but IMHO, I see the next Ferrari WCC and WDC as way beyond Allison, Arrevabene, Seb and Kimi – years beyond…