Ferrari CEO and Chairman Sergio Marchionne was supposed to stay on with the company until 2021, only leaving once a successor had been found and readied. Things, however, have not gone to plan. Marchionne was taken into hospital for planned shoulder surgery, but complications have since arisen which have left him unable to return to work and in an undetermined state of health.
Once it became clear that Marchionne would not be able to return, Ferrari’s Board of Directors convened and named John Elkann as the new Chairman and proposed Louis Camilleri as the new CEO, splitting Marchionne’s old role into two separate ones. Before these appointments, Elkann was the CEO and Chairman of investment company Exor, while Camilleri was already a board member at Ferrari.
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This movement has rocked Ferrari’s settling boat. The team say that their thoughts remain with Marchionne and his family, but a change this big and unscheduled will have undoubtedly thrown them.
There are going to be some sizeable short and long-term consequences of the shift for the team as they try to work out where they stand, and prepare themselves for the remainder of what could be a title-winning season for them.
One of the first issues for the new bosses to deal with is the matter of who drives alongside Sebastian Vettel next year. When Marchionne was in charge, it was thought that the team were leaning more towards the much-hyped Charles Leclerc as opposed to the aging Kimi Raikkonen but this, like everything else, has seemingly changed.
Promoting Leclerc into the Scuderia is a huge risk considering his lack of experience in F1, whereas Raikkonen is a known quantity who, while no longer very exciting, doesn’t represent as much of a gamble. This means that the Finn is much more likely to be retained now than he was before, simply because the new management aren’t going to want to come in and have one of their first major decisions be a big risk. It would be a shame for Leclerc, but he has time on his side and will certainly get to Ferrari one day.
Another thing that needs addressing is the negotiations surrounding F1’s 2021 regulation change. Marchionne had threatened to pull Ferrari out of F1 as a result of the planned engine changes, although many saw this as a bluff to give them more influence in the talks. The main question is if Ferrari’s tune will stay the same with new management – will they deal with F1’s owners Liberty Media in the same way or will things change?
F1 Chairman Chase Carey has said that they will give Ferrari time to sort themselves out before resuming talks. However, with the team having been left somewhat unstable following Marchionne’s departure, it could mean that their position in those talks will be subsequently weakened.
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Then there’s the rest of this season to deal with. After issuing unclear team orders at the German Grand Prix, Raikkonen was certainly unhappy and the team as a whole just seemed a bit flustered. Vettel hit the wall and saw not only an almost certain victory slip away from him, but also the lead in both championships. Ferrari can’t afford to let another championship escape their grasp, as this is the closest they’ve been for a decade – their last constructors’ title came in 2008, with their last drivers’ title in 2007.
The Ferrari revolution, led by Marchionne, had almost been completed. The team were almost back to their championship-winning ways, and it was just that last little bit of work that was missing.
Now, with the new management in place, the question is whether Ferrari continue Marchionne’s good work, or whether it will go to waste? Only time will tell, but these next few weeks and months will be pivotal for the future of Ferrari’s F1 team.
Looking at the results, you wouldn’t have thought much happened during the British Grand Prix, but some action at the start and a couple of safety car periods spiced the race up. The final race of the triple-header in Europe saw Sebastian Vettel take the win.
The 2018 Formula One British GP winners; (left to right)Lewis 2nd, Seb winner and Kimi 3rd. Image courtesy of Ferrari
Sebastian Vettel – 9
There were pre-race doubts about Vettel’s fitness – he had tape put on his neck after FP3 – but the adrenaline kicked in and his start was beautiful, waving concerns away. All the action happened behind him. The safety cars late on in the race put him behind on the track but a great dive-bomb up the inside of Bottas sealed the win. Great victory as we head towards Germany next!
Lewis Hamilton – 9
The Brit got a tardy start which he would come to regret, even if he ended the race in a position where he lost minimal amounts of points. There were some very interesting comments from him afterwards suggesting that tactics from Ferrari were what resulted in him being taken out, bringing back memories of Mexico 2017. Hamilton was the last car on track at the end of lap one, but like a knife through butter he carved his way through the field. A disappointing start, but if you look from lap two onwards it was a great race for him.
Kimi Raikkonen – 7
Raikkonen has finished on the podium at the last three races, but never on the top step. The Finn owned up to his coming-together with Hamilton, saying the incident at turn three was his fault and accepting the penalty handed to him. Team-mate Vettel stormed off into the distance, while Raikkonen couldn’t quite match Hamilton near the end of the race.
Valtteri Bottas – 8
The Mercedes team threw away the lead again today, deciding to keep Bottas out after the second safety car. Before that he was faster than Vettel, so on a level playing field Bottas could have beaten the German and taken the flag first. Much like in China and Baku, strategy from his team may have cost him the victory once again, even if it may have been tougher in Silverstone to remain in the lead. A great start made amends for a poor qualifying on Saturday, but he is clearly still playing second fiddle to Hamilton.
Daniel Ricciardo – 7
Silverstone turned out to be a track which highlighted the frailties of the Red Bull package. Roughly 80% of the track is spent at full throttle, and power isn’t exactly Red Bull’s strong point. Ricciardo was out qualified once again by Verstappen, with a DRS issue hampering his performance. He was great at defending against Raikkonen during the race but unfortunately the safety car came out at the wrong time for him, as he had already made a pit-stop two laps beforehand. The lack of speed along the straights prevented him from passing Bottas in the closing laps of the race.
Nico Hulkenburg – 8
Best of the rest and great haul of points for the German. Renault were the only team to use the hard tyre during the race, having worried about blistering on the other compounds, and the tactic worked brilliantly. Hulkenberg did supremely well to keep the pack behind him at the two safety car restarts.
Esteban Ocon – 7
Ocon is showing his worth a lot more this season compared to last, and provided a great result at for Force India at what is essentially the team’s home race, given that their factory is literally just over the road. Ocon made it through to the final part of qualifying, and kept the car in the top ten on Sunday.
Fernando Alonso – 8
Alonso’s McLaren may lack pace on a Saturday but on a Sunday, in the hands of the Spaniard, it is one of the best in the midfield. He took advantage of the safety cars to pit for some fresh rubber, allowing him to get past Kevin Magnussen at the end. He may appear calm on the outside, but it isn’t hard to imagine that deep down all is still not well with the relationship between himself and McLaren.
Sebastian Vettel leads the 2018 British GP. Image courtesy of Ferrari
Kevin Magnussen – 7
Hampered by the first lap accident with his team-mate, Magnussen did well to score points considering the clash inflicted some damage to his car, which restricted his speed. He was one of few drivers not to pit under the safety car which pushed him down the order late on, but he managed to hold on to salvage some points.
Sergio Perez – 6
Much like Hamilton, Perez saw the field drive past him after contact on the first lap spun him at turn one. He recovered well and found himself in contention for the last point, which was ultimately claimed by Pierre Gasly Chafter a collision between the two near the end of the race. After the race, though, Gasly was awarded a five-second penalty for the incident, meaning Perez inherited P10 and the one point that comes with it.
Stoffel Vandoorne – 4
It was a quiet weekend in general for Vandoorne. He was a whopping 0.9 seconds slower than Alonso on Saturday, and with others making the decision to start the race from the pit-lane it meant he was the last on the grid. He finished the race in 12th, meaning he now hasn’t scored since Baku. Lando Norris in currently second in Formula 2 and is hotly tipped for a drive in F1 next year. It could well be this seat that he takes.
Lance Stroll – 5
Williams are currently the worst car on the grid, and unfortunately nothing put that more on show than Sunday’s race. Prior to the first safety car they were the only team to have been lapped, and Stroll made a mistake in qualifying which ended up his car being beached in the gravel.
Pierre Gasly – 7
Gasly had a good Sunday and initially finished tenth, a welcome result given that Toro Rosso been having a tough time of it recently. The Frenchman collided with Perez with a few laps to go, and a harsh time penalty given to him after the race pushed him down the field. Silverstone was a track which showed Honda’s deficit to the other manufacturers, but there are still promising signs and it was a far better day for Gasly than the results suggested.
Sergey Sirotkin – 5
Sirotkin, along with his team-mate, started the race from the pits after taking on new parts. Like Stroll, Sirotkin also made a mistake in qualifying, but managed to keep the car going and set a lap, albeit one that turned out to be the slowest of the session. Seeing the Williams team run plum last is such a shame to see.
Max Verstappen – 7
Verstappen may have been classified as a finisher, but a brake-by-wire issue ended his day late into the race. Ever-hungry, he was running in a solid podium position, but with the deficit of his Renault power-unit he was a sitting duck at the restarts. His defending to Raikkonen was brilliant.
Carlos Sainz – 5
A poor performance for Sainz both on Saturday and Sunday. A less-than-par qualifying session put him in the thick of the action, and he collided with Romain Grosjean. A weekend to forget for the Spaniard.
Romain Grosjean – 5
Will Austria be seen as a peak in Grosjean’s season? Three collisions in one weekend isn’t good enough. The first occurred in practice, with the second being the cardinal sin of hitting his team mate on the first lap. The third, a tangling with Sainz at Copse, ended his race. Grosjean should have lifted off the throttle, but he kept his foot buried, causing instability and ultimately the collision.
Marcus Ericcson – 6
Ericsson’s DRS didn’t close as he approached turn one during the race and he crashed heavily, bringing out the first safety car. The crash rounded out an unfortunate weekend for the Swede, after England took his country out of the World Cup the day before. He did, however, have great pace during qualifying and got through to Q2.
Charles Leclerc – 8
An unfortunate error in the pits for Sauber resulted in Leclerc’s rear tyre not being fitted properly and the team telling him to stop the car. He had made another Q3 appearance on Saturday and had been running seventh at the time of the error, which meant the loss of a potentially big haul of points.
Brendan Hartley – N/A
You can’t really comment on what a horrible weekend the Kiwi has had. The suspension failure on Saturday pretty much ended his weekend. He didn’t see any track action in qualifying, and a last minute problem starting from the pit lane resulted in retirement after one lap. None of it whatsoever was his fault.
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There is now a two-week break before we head to Hockenheim in Germany, a track that we see appear every so often on the calendar. Vettel won on Hamilton’s home turf this weekend, but can Hamilton strike back with victory in Germany? Vettel hasn’t got a record like Hamilton at his home track, and has only won in Germany once in his Red Bull days. The summer break looms and, for drivers such as Grosjean and Vandoorne, the pressure increases.
Valtteri Bottas has claimed his first pole position of the year, and leads a Mercedes 1-2 into tomorrow’s Austrian Grand Prix.
Of the big-hitters, only Bottas and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen had a truly clean session. Both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel made mistakes early on – at turn three and turn four respectively – and ended up relatively far back after the first Q3 runs had been completed. It took until the last couple of minutes for the pair to pull themselves back up the order – Hamilton ultimately qualified P2, and Vettel P3, with both pushing Kimi Raikkonen down into P4. Vettel was noted as being under investigation for allegedly impeding Carlos Sainz in Q2, but since Sainz did advance to Q3 it is uncertain whether Vettel will receive any penalty.
Red Bull had expected qualifying to be a struggle compared to Mercedes and Ferrari coming into the weekend. Max Verstappen may have qualified P5 but he was still two tenths behind Raikkonen, and Daniel Ricciardo ended up P7 behind the Haas of an impressive Romain Grosjean. Replays of team radio throughout the session indicated a certain amount of tension in the team, with Ricciardo frustrated that Verstappen did not follow orders to lead the Australian for a lap and give him a tow, as Ricciardo had done for Verstappen the lap before.
Kevin Magnussen and the two Renaults of Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg complete the top ten.
Further down the order, Charles Leclerc continues to impress in the Sauber. He qualified P13 but carries a five-place grid penalty due to his gearbox needing to be changed following a stoppage on track in FP3.
Force India’s Sergio Perez had a nightmare of a session. The Mexican complained of running out of battery during his first run and of getting stuck in traffic during his second. He failed to make it out of Q1 and starts P17.
It was also a frustrating session for McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne and Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley. Both were looking to pull themselves out of the drop-zone and into Q2, but encountered yellow flags on their flying laps when Charles Leclerc ran through the gravel trap in the final moments of Q1.
Both Mercedes and Red Bull will start tomorrow’s Grand Prix on the supersoft tyres, with all those around them starting on the ultras. Bottas will be hoping to convert pole position into a win, at the circuit where he claimed his second ever victory in 2017.
Austrian Grand Prix Grid
1. Valtteri Bottas – 1:03.130
2. Lewis Hamilton – 1:03.149
3. Sebastian Vettel – 1:03.464
4. Kimi Raikkonen – 1:03.660
5. Max Verstappen – 1:03.840
6. Romain Grosjean – 1:03.892
7. Daniel Ricciardo – 1:03.996
8. Kevin Magnussen – 1:04.051
9. Carlos Sainz – 1:04.725
10. Nico Hulkenberg – 1:05.019
11. Esteban Ocon – 1:04.845
12. Pierre Gasly 0 1:04.874
13. Fernando Alonso – 1:05.058
14. Lance Stroll – 1:05.286
15. Stoffel Vandoorne – 1:05.271
16. Sergio Perez – 1:05.279
17. Sergey Sirotkin – 1:05.322
18. Charles Leclerc – 1:04.979 *5-place penalty for gearbox change
19. Brendon Hartley 1:05.366
20. Marcus Ericsson – 1:05.479
Update – 17:30 – Sebastian Vettel has been given a three-place penalty by the stewards for impeding Carlos Sainz at turn one in Q2. The German will now start P6, promoting Kimi Raikkonen to P3, Max Verstappen to P4, and Romain Grosjean to P5.
Team orders are a topic that often divides fans of Formula One. They are a critical, but at times, unwelcome part of motorsport. Throughout the years, the conflict of whether team orders should be implemented to manipulate results has come to the forefront on a number of occasions. Arguably, the most famous case of team orders was in 2002 when Ferrari’s Rubens Barrichello gifted the race win to his teammate Michael Schumacher in Austria. It was a decision that caused outcry throughout the paddock and the racing world. Schumacher was dominating proceedings and his closest competitor was 21 points behind, making Ferrari’s decision seem a pointless one. After the 2002 season ended, the FIA announced that orders that influenced a race result would be banned. In 2010, despite the ban still been in place, Ferrari once more showed their blatant disregard for the rules at the German Grand Prix. “Fernando is faster than you.” uttered by Felipe Massa’s race engineer, Rob Smedley, is now a phrase that has found it’s place in Formula One history. Massa proceeded to allow his teammate and title contender Fernando Alonso through to clinch the win. However, after the race, Ferrari were reprimanded with a $100,000 fine. It was shortly after this incident that the ban on team orders were lifted. The relaxation of the ban brought about a situation that would be discussed several years later, that would be ingrained into the history of Formula One. The year was 2013. The previous three seasons had been dominated by a new force. Red Bull had claimed the crown of the constructor’s championship and the driver’s championship for the third consecutive time and this season, the aim was no different. They wanted to continue to build on the success they had forged with the dynamic partnership of three time world champion Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.
Credit: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Things however, were not rosy within Red Bull. Over the past three years, it was clear that Red Bull seemed to favour Vettel, leading to quips from Webber such as “Not bad for a number two driver.” at the 2010 British Grand Prix. However, Webber continued to perform admirably, often securing podium finishes to cement Red Bull’s standing at the top of the driver’s championship. The opening race of the 2013 season had not gone to plan for the Austrian based team. Their lead driver Sebastian Vettel had taken pole but thanks to a mistimed pit stop, had to settle for third behind Räikkönen and Alonso. Webber had less luck, struggling with a ECU problem which dropped him to a lowly sixth position. It was not the start that Red Bull had envisioned. Things had to change in Malaysia. They did, but not in the way they had hoped. Vettel claimed a dominant pole but gambled with dry weather tyres early in the race, falling back several positions on the still-wet track. Webber on the other hand, took over the lead of the race and held the position until the last set of pit stops as Vettel carved his way back through the field. However, as lap 44 began and Webber emerged ahead of Vettel in his final pit stop, the delicate harmony that had existed between the two Red Bull teammates would once more be shattered. Red Bull had opted to retain their current 1-2 status. They did not want a repeat of the events that unfolded at the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix. The situation had been identical. Webber had fended off a chasing Vettel until fuel saving had left him open to attack. Vettel had dived down the inside but the two teammates collided, sending Vettel spinning into the gravel and out of the race. Webber recovered to take third place. Both drivers blamed the other for the crash. Red Bull team advisor Helmut Marko and team principal Christian Horner were livid and for good reason, their driver’s actions had thrown away the perfect team result. “Multi map 2-1, multi map 2-1.” was the order given to Vettel in Malaysia as he chased down his teammate, hungry for his first win of the season. Red Bull wanted to preserve their driver’s current positions. However, the three time world champion chose to ignore the order, continuing to press Webber. Horner chose to intervene at that moment, seeing Vettel on the gearbox of the sister car. He told Vettel to give Webber space and to hold position. But that order was also ignored by Vettel who pressed forward, pulling alongside Webber. Webber fought back, but it was to no avail. Vettel got ahead of the Australian at turn four, going on to claim another victory and the top spot of the driver’s championship. Webber finished second, but he was furious that Vettel had ignored direct team orders.
Tempers flared in the cool-down room as Webber uttered the infamous words “Yeah, Multi 21, Seb. Multi 21.” reinforcing the team orders that Vettel had disregarded. His anger continued into the press conference as he confirmed that Vettel had made his own decisions but he would probably be afforded protection as the main driver at the Austrian outfit.
Credit: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Although Vettel apologised at the end of the race, his teammate’s remarks made him withdraw his apology ahead of the next race in China. He claimed that he had not understood the instruction he was given and that Webber did not deserve to win, pointing to the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix as evidence. Vettel had fought back from last to sixth, only for his progress to be hindered by his teammate. Thankfully, for the championship leader, fellow German Michael Schumacher allowed him to pass, clinching the title by a mere three points.
It wasn’t until 2015 when Webber was finally able to release his book Aussie Grit that further details on the incident were released. Vettel had sent lawyer’s documents to Red Bull, preventing them from reprimanding him further. By this point, however, the dust had settled on the events and they were a distant memory. Despite this, the Multi 21 situation changed everything. It is still discussed within fans of motorsport, even today. The team were left embarrassed by Vettel’s comments, the gulf between their two drivers was plain to see. The decision to allow team orders in the sport was once again questioned as fans feared that it diluted the excitement of watching drivers duel without any influence. Despite this animosity, Vettel still claimed his fourth consecutive title in dominating fashion that season. However, it came at the cost of losing Webber. In June 2013, the Australian called time on his eleven year Formula One career, declaring that he was moving on to drive for Porsche on their new LMP1 sportscar programme.
Webber has never stated that the Multi 21 situation alone was reason for him to choose to walk away from the successful team. It seems, rather, to be one of a number of catalysts that forced his decision. He no longer wanted to sit back and watch his teammate get the preferential treatment. It turned out to be a decision worth making as Webber would go on to claim the 2015 WEC championship with teammates Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley.
Credit: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Rivalries between teammates have become part of what makes Formula One great. Two men fighting side by side in the same machinery. Prost and Senna. Mansell and Piquet. Alonso and Hamilton. Hamilton and Rosberg. These names are forever ingrained in the history of the sport together, as fierce competitors in intense battles. Vettel and Webber are no exception to this. Multi 21 however, exposed the ugly side of being teammates, of favouring one driver over the other blatantly played out in the public eye. Team orders have always been a part of motorsport. They always will be as teams push to claim the result that suits them best. Multi 21 was not the first time team orders were issued and ignored, nor will it be the last. It will still remain as one of the great controversies of the sport for years to come, cementing both Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber as fierce competitors during their time together at Red Bull.
Image courtesy of Pirelli Motorsports
