Montezemolo wants customer chassis to help Italian drivers

For the first time in over 40 years, Italy will not have a single driver at the start of a Grand Prix this season, although the tifosi will still be able to count on Scuderia Ferrari to carry the Italian colors, more or less prominently. While some point out the responsibility of the Maranello firm in the current drought faced by Italian drivers, others, like Giancarlo Minardi, remind us that it would be difficult for a young driver to get a chance behind the wheel of one of the Rossa cars: “When it comes to finding a champion with Ferrari, it will take time, even though we are the first to cry scandal when the Maranello team comes in second,” recently explained the iconic Minardi team boss, lamenting especially the absence of a “small” Italian team that would allow drivers, mechanics, and engineers to grow.

Indeed, it must be acknowledged that, with the exception of Toro Rosso which draws from the Red Bull program, it is nearly impossible for a young driver to break into Formula One on talent alone, without substantial financial support. In an interview with the Gazetta dello Sport, Luca di Montezemolo naturally agrees with Minardi and proposes a solution: « The real problem is that there are no opportunities for young drivers. Let’s say three top Italian drivers emerge from the junior formulas, what happens next? I can’t have them test in our car because testing is banned, and having them race in the 458 GT is something completely different. I have an idea! Let’s give the smaller teams a Ferrari from the previous year and require them to hire an Italian driver. That would be fantastic… » explains the Italian, not without ulterior motives since the debate about customer cars has reemerged in recent weeks, as evidenced by the interest recently shown by one of our columnists.

The president of Ferrari, who has been advocating for the idea of the third car for many years, is now championing customer cars, but faces skepticism from some members of the paddock, led by Martin Whitmarsh, Team Principal of the McLaren team: « We do not think that customer cars are good for the sport. It is the fact that different teams and manufacturers develop and build their own cars that makes Formula One unique. There are many financial challenges in our sport, and it might one day be necessary, for its survival, to allow customer cars. [But] philosophically, I don’t think it’s the right thing. »