On July 25, ex-president of Ferrari Sergio Marchionne passed away. In less than four years, the energetic Italian was able to return Scuderia to the leading position in royal races. Let us recall his main achievements.
Innovations
A few years ago, the state of affairs in Maranello looked deplorable: the chassis was ineffective, the engine was inferior to its rivals, the team could not boast of a single breakthrough idea and could only fight for victory in some places. But last year there was a breakthrough that became apparent in 2018: the Ferrari SF70H and 71H turned out to be innovative with a bunch of promising ideas and bold decisions.
And if last year the attention was focused only on the chassis, then this season it turned out that the Italian power unit also became the best in the peloton, pushing the undisputed leaders of the turbo tour with Mercedes. What caused such an unexpected but pleasant spurt for Scuderia fans? To do this, Sergio Marchionne needed to break the atmosphere of conservatism, crisis and fear of innovation that reigned in the team at the time of his arrival. “Now Ferrari is not a team, but a bunch of intimidated people. They don’t come up with anything new, don’t make decisions, they’re afraid of being fired,”said former race engineer Luca Baldisseri, who left Ferrari in 2015, about the state of affairs in Maranello.
It took Marchionne several months to restructure the team. With his submission, a working group was created in each division, which was engaged in the search for new ideas. The atmosphere in the team became more open, the employees were no longer afraid to offer fresh solutions, as a result of which Ferrari once again became a model of engineering and aerodynamics in Formula 1, even moving the recognized leaders in this matter - Red Bull with Adrian Newey.
Personnel
Marchionne decided that Italy had enough of its own talents, and even after James Ellison left the post of technical director, he did not invite a foreigner with a loud surname. The bet on local personnel, especially on little-known specialists, looked extremely adventurous even in the eyes of the inner circle of the Ferrari president. But Sergio believed in his people. “Italians make good road cars. But why can't they build fast racing cars? He asked. And a miracle happened. Former chief minder Mattia Binotto not only successfully replaced Ellison, but surpassed him as chief technical officer. Former employee of the Phillip Morris tobacco concern Maurizio Arrivabene organically fit into the role of a charismatic team leader, and under the leadership of Corrado Lotti, who previously headed the GT division, the best engine of modern F1 was created.
Political struggle with Liberty Media
Marchionne was one of the key figures in resisting the intention of the new Formula 1 owners with Liberty Media to democratize the World Cup. And if at the meetings of the Strategic Group and the F1 Commission Mercedes and Red Bull - Ferrari's main allies in this fight - were represented by Toto Wolff and Christian Horner, then Sergio personally was from Scuderia, and not the direct head of the Arrivabene team.
The Italian resolutely defended the interests and privileges of Ferrari in the fight against Liberty Media and clearly defined the rules of the game: either the new owners respect the special status of Scuderia, or she will leave the championship. Of course, most likely, Ferrari never intended to leave Formula 1, but the status of the legendary and most famous team did not allow the Americans to ignore these threats. With Marchionne's death, F1 owners can breathe a sigh of relief - his successors may lack the level of intransigence and influence that he had.
“Sergio and I have always interacted well and reached agreement on many issues, and now we will have to start everything from scratch,” said Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of the Daimler concern, sadly.
The return of Alfa Romeo
Sergio Marchionne left his mark in Formula 1 not only as President of Ferrari, but also as the head of the entire FIAT Chrysler concern.
The return of the Alfa Romeo brand to the World Championship is a personal achievement of the Italian, who spent many years saving the company from Milan, famous for its past motorsport achievements. Marchionne spoke about the possibility of Alfa Romeo's return to F1 back in 2015. The ideas were different: from the creation of a factory team based on the Sauber in the supply of engines to the Toro Rosso. In the end, it was decided to limit itself to title sponsorship of the Swiss stable. This step coincided with the progress of Sauber and the emergence of a promising Charles Leclair in its composition. And this was a good step from a marketing point of view, since it was in 2017 that the number of Alfa Romeo car sales went up.
And in sports terms - in addition to promoting the brand from Milan - Sergio Marchionne received a virtually junior Ferrari team following the example of Toro Rosso and Red Bull. According to rumors, he was hatching similar plans regarding a possible alliance between Haas and Maserati, but now they are in big question.
