Horner knows what Ferrari needs to do: 'That's their biggest problem'
Ferrari still hasn't taken the leak. After the Italian team kicked off the 2022 Formula 1 season as a serious challenger to Red Bull Racing, setback after setback followed for the team of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Christian Horner does think he has an idea where the problem lies for the Scuderia.
Horner pinpoints Ferrari problem
Frederic Vasseur was appointed as Mattia Binotto's successor ahead of the 2023 F1 season, but the new team boss has not yet managed to turn the tide either. A completely new car is supposed to arrive in 2024, on which all Leclerc and Sainz's hopes are pinned.
Horner suspects the influence from Italy is having a negative effect on Ferrari's performance. "I think the biggest problem for Ferrari is that it’s a national team. It needs to get back to being a race team," the 49-year-old Briton said in the Eff Won with DRS podcast.
"It’s an Italian institution and there’s probably too many people at the top end. Everybody has an input and has a say. From the outside looking in, one of our strengths is that we move quickly, we make decisions and we stick to them. And if we make the wrong decision, we change the decision. I think, for Ferrari, the newspapers have such an influence on what happens there. So it’s a lot of pressure, being at Ferrari."
Probably the reason why Horner rebuffed last year's offer. Too many cooks making decisions.
A smaller and leaner organisation like the RB F1 Team, has Horner, Marko and probably Newey making most of the decisions. So, any change in direction of the design of the car or other important tactical direction the team is heading towards, can be decided upon and changed very quickly. In a large corporate organisation like Ferrari, there are too many layers of decision makers, managements and committees which have to sit down to agree to any changes, so decisions cannot be made quickly. Also everyone in the 'chain of command' always has someone higher that is above him and has to report to and he is also always having to 'cover his back side' in case a decision made is not correct. This makes decision making very slow and makes the whole process very sluggish.
True, Ferrari needs a rejig from the top management. The team principal and the chief engineer need to be given more power and authority over the team, and stop them from being yes men just to keep their jobs. Since the last time they won the WDC and WCC they have had about 5 or more team principals consistency is lacking.
Almost sounds like he is laying out the conditions he would accept if appointed .....
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