Montezemolo: We must make a good start
14 January, 2011
Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo with Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso
Jan.14 (PVM) Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo was the special guest on Friday at the twenty-first edition of “Wrooom. He met, for the first time in 2011, the team including Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, in private, followed by a meeting with representatives of the media attending the event.
Montezemolo greets media and Ferrari drivers upon his arrival on the slopes of Madonna di Campiglio
Naturally, Formula 1 was the main dish of the day at the meeting between di Montezemolo and the assembled journalists in the Fiat Chalet.
The Ferrari boss admitted, “Believe me, I often still wake up at night thinking of the race in Abu Dhabi, so it goes without saying that we must absolutely look to the future. We are working very hard on the new car. As Domenicali and I told you back in December, there has been no revolution within our organisation, just a few adjustments aimed at improving the way the team is run.”
Montezemolo stated the team’s main objective, “We must make a good start, both in terms of reliability and, above all, on the performance front. Last year, we lost the championship in a first half that found us failing to live up to our expectations. I think this will be a very interesting championship: there are a few question marks regarding the new rules and therefore we will have to wait and see how competitive are our rivals.”
Montezemolo with the 2011 Ferrari driver line-up
On Thursday, Alonso predicted that Michael Schumacher could be his biggest rival in 2011. Montezemolo was asked to comment, “I think we must wait for the first few races, but these tales are good for the media and the fans. Alonso says Michael, Felipe says Hamilton, maybe Michael will favour Vettel, so there’s nothing new under the sun!
He added, “Michael is still close to my heart and part of Ferrari’s history and I have no doubt he is still a fantastic driver. His team-mate out-paced him last year? So, sure, there’s also Rosberg. In fact, I expect three teams, maybe even four to be fighting it out at the top in 2011. Of the new generation of drivers, he [Rosberg] is in there as indeed is Vettel. But the hierarchy will be established on the stopwatch.”
Montezemolo concluded cryptically, “Having said that, one problem we don’t have is on the driver front: I know who is the best in the world, but I’m not saying…”
Related posts:
- Montezemolo: Vettel to drive red car one day
- Alonso and Massa will start 2011 as equals
- Montezemolo: This is the Ferrari I like to see
- Ferrari boss: Enough of this hypocrisy
- Video: Di Montezemolo on Ferrari’s 800th GP
