Luca di Montezemolo, has responded to criticism from Italian government ministers, after the team came under fire following the manner in which it lost the world championship in Abu Dhabi, handing the title to Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel.
“We’re sorry to see that there are some politicians on the outside who are ready to jump onto the winner’s bandwagon, then push for the guillotine when things go badly,” the automaker commented in a statement posted on its website, “And we don’t understand anyone who revels in self-defeatism, who sinks into the culture of, ‘Everything’s gone wrong, we have to start all over again.’ They are vices that are very Italian, that we must learn to shake off,”
Cabinet minister Roberto Calderoli was among those suggesting that Ferrari President Luca Cordero di Montezemolo should step down, prompting Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne (Fiat owns an 85% stake in Ferrari) to issue a statement in Montezemolo’s defence.
“The result from yesterday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix certainly wasn’t what we all expected, but we’ve still got to be grateful to the men and women of Ferrari, whose work allowed (the team) to near an objective that until a few weeks ago seemed unthinkable,” Marchionne said.
Though Ferrari’s team director Stefano Domenicali acknowledged that the squad made three tactical mistakes in the race, Marchionne added that he is convinced that everyone at Ferrari, from its president on down to the last mechanic, did a great job, “Therefore these sarcastic comments, mostly from the political world, seem thoughtless and offensive to me.”
A popular and influential national figure, Montezemolo is descended from Italian aristocracy, and there has been speculation that Montezemolo could have political ambitions to lead a new coalition in opposition to Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi. Having recently stepped down as chairman of the Fiat group, it has fueled even more speculation of his imminent move into politics.
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