- Ferrari
New Ferrari chairman advocates high-risk approach
Sergio Marchionne, the man who has replaced Luca di Montezemolo as Ferrari chairman, says the F1 team must embrace risk and "kick some ass" to regain a dominant place in the sport again.
Marchionne - who is also the head of Fiat - officially started his new role on Monday, following Di Montezemolo's decision to step down in September. Ferrari is currently going through a frustrating campaign and is on course for its first winless season since 1993.
New team principal Marco Mattiacci has been tasked with taking the team back to the top of F1 after seven seasons without a constructors' championship and eight since Kimi Raikkonen won its last drivers' title in 2007. Marchionne will also oversee that period and thinks Ferrari has to change its approach to be successful.
"A non-winning Ferrari on the Formula One track is not Ferrari," Marchionne told Autocar. "We've got to kick some ass and we've got to do it quickly. It takes what it takes. We might screw up, but we've got nothing to lose, right? Let's risk something."
Ferrari's last win was Fernando Alonso's at the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix and Marchionne says he will not accept its period of futility continuing for too long.
"That continues to be my main objective in terms of Ferrari going forward. I can live with periods of bad luck, but it cannot become a structural element of the brand."
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
