i've seen there are some differences in the two cars. i hope the parts on Kimi's cars are the ones fitting him. we do need a better weekend with no major problems so that the car can be better set up...
quoteIl Padrino re-enforces his commitment to Ferrari
Team insiders report that Marco Mattiacci has a closer relationship with the apolitical Kimi Raikkonen than with the fiercely political Fernando Alonso. In fact since his arrival in China, of the two drivers ,it is only Alonso who has seemingly made any public comment about the new boss.
After the frosty reception he gave the incoming Team Principle, he appeared to have softened his stance by Barcelona. “Marco has little racing experience,” he said, “but plenty on the management side. He is listening and learning as fast as possible. We’ve had meetings to help in all areas and he wants to listen to everybody. I don’t think he wants to become an engineer, but his priority is to take his time and then make decisions. He needs more time.”
With Luca di Montezemolo present in the Catalunya paddock it is hardly surprising that Mattiacci has maintained a low profile but Il Padrino offered words to seemingly appease the ranks of Tifosi worldwide but most likely a veiled comment to Alonso. “I’m not happy with the situation, I want to be close to the team and Mattiacci – who has just arrived. It was the same for 4 or 5 months when Jean Todt came to Ferrari in 1993, because he was not an expert.”
What the boss omitted to add was that he was not an ‘expert’ in Formula One. Todt had run the Peugeot Talbot Sport division from 1981 and masterminded the Peugeot 205T16 and the 905 Group C car with stunning success. It was only Peugeot’s reluctance to enter F1 that pushed the little Frenchman towards Maranello. The rest as they say is history.
The wheels could well be coming off the Ferrari band wagon, and quicker than we all expected. Though, Fernando Alonso for a change is behaving himself. His sojourns in twitterland during this season have been restricted to banal ‘hello’, ‘thank you’ and ‘goodbye’ type comments – mostly in Spanish and Italian.
Yet as we observed yesterday, the handling of the Mattiacci affair becomes stranger by the day. Marco was forced to sit subservient and silent throughout a press conference given by Il Padrino last weekend in Barcelona – where the message from Luca was in effect, “I’m going to be rolling up my sleeves and doing the ‘day to day’ stuff for the next few months, because this guy hasn’t got a clue”.
Montezemolo is now giving us some background on the decision to appoint Marco Mattiacci. He claims it was his decision alone Il Padrino already told us he did not want a ‘mercenary’, which presumably was the reason why James Allison was overlooked.
Luca now says of Mattiacci’s appointment, “There were no other alternatives because, first of all, I made the decision and also I did not have time to think of somebody else and I didn’t want to leave an open position. In 99% of the time I am happy to let people grow up in the company.”
Say what??? The selection of the next head of the Ferrari racing team was settled upon because Il Padrino didn’t have time to properly consider all the options???
Domenicali leaves suddenly and unexpectedly… Il Padrino makes a snap appointment… all none Italian Ferrari workers are mercenaries?
This is PR mayhem… and during this mayhem, Il Padrino agrees to allow Ross Brawn and his mates to rock up in Maranello… to test some Ferrari’s???
I THINK NOT!!!
If Mattiacci was appointed by Il Padrino, then the writing is on the wall for him. He is being humiliated by both Montezemolo and Alonso who have talked him into a corner this weekend. Mattiacci will not be able to make any decisions for months due to his “inexperience” repeatedly cited by ‘the head of the family’.
Why would Il Padrino do this to his own appointment? Maybe because he has always been waiting for a certain someone to complete his gardening leave, and Mattiacci is a temporary puppet.
However, if Mattiacci is in actuality a FIAT appointment – parachuted in over Il Padrino’s head, then expect seismic activity – greater than a count of 9 – soon in Maranello. In this scenario Il Padrino and Alonso’s behaviour is clearly an attempt to drive Mattiacci to quit.
Yet, if Mattiacci is as good as his CV suggests, and he has the support of FIAT, then more changing of the guard can be expected in Maranello – and Il Padrino’s opportunity to go a politicking will arrive sooner than he hope
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Wed May 07, 2014 11:01 pm
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