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Written by Jason Barlow
Ferrari CEO and Chariman Sergio Marchionne is a man with an innate sense of theatre. This isn"t always the case with car bosses. A mid-afternoon Q&A session in an ante-room on the Ferrari stand is a well-established motor show staple. Here"s how it works: Marchionne comes in, followed by the company"s top executives, VP Enrico Galliera, technical boss Michael Leiters, marketing man Nicola Boari, and design VP Flavio Manzoni. A microphone is made available. Occasionally, they might even get a word in edgeways. But as the boss always likes to roll out at least one grenade, that"s what we"re there for. We start with Formula One, and his recent broad-side to Liberty Media that Ferrari would go elsewhere if the next major reset due to take effect in 2021 wasn"t to his liking. Something about playing with fire". Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche told TopGear.com in January that he approved of Marchionne"s sabre-rattling, and that while "we beat each other like crazy on the track, and try to get every tenth of a second advantage over one another, but at the same time we are 100 per cent aligned on our thoughts on F1, and the strategic action in F1". Marchionne now sounds a more emollient note. "We have been a structural element in F1 since its inception. I did not say we were leaving Formula 1 in 2020, but that if we cannot reconcile our differences [with Liberty] then we will leave. We"ve raced in F1 the longest of anyone. We understand the sport. It"s hard to imagine F1 without Ferrari, so in terms of a breakaway threat, well I hope it doesn"t come to that.
Date written: 8 Mar 2018
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 11123
Ferrari CEO and Chariman Sergio Marchionne is a man with an innate sense of theatre. This isn"t always the case with car bosses. A mid-afternoon Q&A session in an ante-room on the Ferrari stand is a well-established motor show staple. Here"s how it works: Marchionne comes in, followed by the company"s top executives, VP Enrico Galliera, technical boss Michael Leiters, marketing man Nicola Boari, and design VP Flavio Manzoni. A microphone is made available. Occasionally, they might even get a word in edgeways. But as the boss always likes to roll out at least one grenade, that"s what we"re there for. We start with Formula One, and his recent broad-side to Liberty Media that Ferrari would go elsewhere if the next major reset due to take effect in 2021 wasn"t to his liking. Something about playing with fire". Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche told TopGear.com in January that he approved of Marchionne"s sabre-rattling, and that while "we beat each other like crazy on the track, and try to get every tenth of a second advantage over one another, but at the same time we are 100 per cent aligned on our thoughts on F1, and the strategic action in F1". Marchionne now sounds a more emollient note. "We have been a structural element in F1 since its inception. I did not say we were leaving Formula 1 in 2020, but that if we cannot reconcile our differences [with Liberty] then we will leave. We"ve raced in F1 the longest of anyone. We understand the sport. It"s hard to imagine F1 without Ferrari, so in terms of a breakaway threat, well I hope it doesn"t come to that.
Date written: 8 Mar 2018
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 11123
