The English champion arrived at Maranello at the beginning of the week that is now ending. Before hitting the track with the SF-23, Hamilton started getting to know the environment of Maranello, among technicians, mechanics, and especially the new facilities. After some sessions in the simulator, the seven-time champion debuted at Fiorano in front of many fans who braved the cold and the gloomy weather.

Maurizio Arrivabene, Ferrari team principal from 2014 to 2018, led Scuderia towards a gradual growth of the team. However, the sudden death of Sergio Marchionne in mid-2018, the guarantor of the Brescia-born manager, put an end to his career at the helm of Scuderia.

Speaking to the Giornale di Brescia, Maurizio Arrivabene revealed that he had been in contact with Hamilton even during his time in charge of Ferrari. “I had thought of him a few years ago as well,” commented the former Ferrari team principal. “I would say that for him, it is a very, very important milestone. He just has to get into the Maranello mentality, a unique team.” – the Italian manager pointed out.

Knowing how the team operates and what is needed to find the right chemistry, Maurizio Arrivabene did not hesitate to advise Hamilton. “He needs to understand that a Ferrari is not just something you drive, you have to love it, and if you can drive it and love it, you can do well, enter the hearts of the fans not only because you are Lewis Hamilton but because you are a great Ferrari fan.”

Advice that, at the moment, Lewis Hamilton seems to be following, with a crowd greeting him upon his arrival in Maranello and also after his debut with the SF-23. A love for the red car that seems to have rekindled his desire to race, driven by the warmth conveyed by the fans, always present in these days in Maranello.

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What was it like working with Sergio Marchionne?
“A military pilot described taking off from an aircraft carrier as ‘making love and hitting a wall at 150 mph, all at once.’ It was like that, strong emotions. But as the years go by, you realize you were alongside a great man. He had a very tough character but taught me and left me a lot.”

What do you mean by “very tough”?
“He demanded a lot from himself and others. It was normal to receive calls at 2 or 4 in the morning; maybe he was in the USA, but it didn’t matter much to me as I was used to sleeping little. I learned to understand him over time, he truly made decisions. Today, I see many high-level managers who have difficulty choosing and do not take risks. This way, they avoid deciding by delegating to superiors just to keep their position. At Philip Morris, we were taught to take risks, to seek new paths; if you made a mistake, you had to take responsibility: in Ferrari, I always did.”

In what way?
“A leader has to show their face, I always went in front of the cameras. It makes me laugh when I hear concepts like ‘we put people at the center of the company’: it means letting an elite command and delegating the rest to the HR department. I sent engineers and mechanics, the ‘invisible’ people, to the podium; I regret not being able to continue. At Juve, I wanted to know all levels, with small group meetings: through dialogue, you discover interests and human potential; someone might work better in one area than another.”

Does this apply to drivers too? Leclerc is not having a happy moment.
“Drivers have ups and downs. I believed in Charles from the first day: before being included in the Academy, he came to the office and impressed me. He did not lower his gaze, he looked me straight in the eyes. From that meeting, I was convinced to take him. An old F1 master told me that a champion is recognized by how they look at you. He surprised me again when, shortly after his father’s death, he got on the team flight for the F2 race. I asked him, ‘Charles, what are you doing here?’ And he said, ‘There’s a race, I want to win it for my father.’ And he won.”

Is it just a temporary crisis?
“No crisis, but a moment of discouragement. He needs to be stimulated and understood. He needs people around him who know how to bring out the best in him. If someone has talent, they don’t lose it suddenly.”

And Sainz?
“I know him little, but I had spoken with his father, who always believed in him. There are parents who help, like him, and others who create problems.”

For example?
“Often, during youth games, and it happens everywhere, you see several parents yelling at the opponents. There were campers outside the Juve center in Vinovo, with families living there who had left work to follow their children, convinced they were certain talents. It’s really uneducative, lacking smiles and carefree moments. In my days, scouts went around parish or more secular ‘little fields’; it was a happier football. If you were bad, you were not blamed, you went to the fields by bike, teams were formed by choosing alternately mixing the strong with the less strong, but once choices were made, everyone became a team. Now, from a young age, everything has become hyper-professional, with parents making great efforts to ‘drop off’ their children at training: it would be better to have one more pizza with the kids and one less training.”

Is it harder to work at Ferrari or Juve?
“Let me clarify my experience at Ferrari. No one fired me; otherwise, I wouldn’t have gone to Juve afterward. I had a four-year contract, and it was not renewed; we did not find an agreement. I was not only the team principal but also the managing director, with delegations given by Marchionne; Ferrari had just been listed, and the Scuderia had to be the flagship.”

Do you miss F1?
“A little, yes. I watch the races and think, ‘I would have done this.’ Fans still stop me on the street and many thank me, which pleases me the most. They call me ‘engineer,’ even though I am not. To be a team principal, you must be a leader, able to bring together different skills and personalities. Because in the end, the team principal counts very little in executing a GP; if one man chose everything, we would see comedy on Sundays.”

There was talk of tensions between you and Mattia Binotto. Did that pair not work?
“I don’t think so; this story was fueled from inside or outside; each of us had our role. But a well-made pair was Marchionne-Arrivabene.”

Ferrari has changed a lot in recent years, but at each step, there is talk of rebuilding, reorganizing, taking time. Why?
“Ferrari is everyone’s dream. Sometimes the pressure inside doesn’t give you time; everything happens so fast that you can’t complete a project naturally. In 2015, just arrived, we won three races. The following year, we were very busy developing the 2017 car; we finished third in the constructors and read about ‘zero titles.’ Marchionne defended the team, understanding we were in a transition phase. And indeed, the results came; we were in the fight for the championship in 2017 and 2018.”

Is Hamilton the right choice?
“Lewis can help Charles grow; a driver’s first opponent is his teammate. But what matters more is the car he will have, and the only phenomenon is Verstappen. But even he cannot lower lap times alone by 2-3 tenths as I hear.”

Is Ecclestone’s F1 better than Domenicali’s?
“Impossible to compare two different worlds. Today’s F1 owes a lot to Bernie. There is no future without a solid past; Stefano is an excellent manager and was the only one to win a title with Ferrari. Today’s F1 is a global show, able to compete with entertainment and video games. I said it years ago, and they made fun of me.”

What do you think of John Elkann and Fred Vasseur’s Ferrari?
“I do not judge others’ work. If I had to decide, I would focus on two fronts: stability and team spirit. Those who feel protected work better; a united group can do miracles. When we won the first GP in Malaysia with Vettel, in 2015, no one could believe it, starting with me.”

Flavio Briatore is back; will we see you in F1 again?
“For now, I am happy with what I do with my company. I have lived many beautiful emotions and do not love the spotlight. I miss the people, yes. The strongest emotion was sending chief mechanic Modesto Menabue to the podium in Sepang; I miss the adrenaline of those moments. When you achieve a good result, you are happy to see the boys happy.”

What was the strongest sports emotion you experienced in your career?
“The Ferrari one-two in Hungary in 2017; we knew from the first laps about Sebastian Vettel’s steering problems. It required cold blood; I was going back and forth from the wall to the box to give security to the guys. Even if everyone’s legs were shaking, including mine. I called Kimi Raikkonen on the radio, asking him to protect Sebastian. Kimi did a masterpiece; those 70 laps seemed never-ending. He could have tried to win but put himself at the service of the team. We went into battle, from the first to the last, to give everything: this is the attitude I like. And at the end of the race, few celebrations: everything returned to normal, and everyone went back to work. In a world of people wanting to be special, to be really special, you have to be normal.”

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In addition to the ‘usual’ Gino Rosato, Robin’s godfather, Maurizio Arrivabene, the Italian manager who was Ferrari’s team principal from 2015 to 2018 when Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen were the drivers for the Scuderia, also dropped by to greet his former colleagues at Franciacorta.

Robin Raikkonen took two victories over the two race days, and on Instagram, Gino Rosato, as always, couldn’t contain his enthusiasm in his stories: “He raced in a league of his own, what a race,” said Gino Rosato, playing on Robin’s middle name ‘Ace’ by writing ‘What a R-Ace’.

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Sebastian Vettel and Daniil Kvyat were on the verge of becoming teammates at Ferrari. This is the sensational revelation made by the Russian driver, who, after an excellent debut season with Toro Rosso in 2014, disclosed that he was approached by Maurizio Arrivabene himself, the team principal of Ferrari, at the end of 2015.

The Moscow-born driver, coming off a reasonably satisfying first year at Red Bull, finishing ahead of team leader Daniel Ricciardo, chose to reject Ferrari’s proposal and continue in Milton Keynes. However, the decision turned out to be a total failure for him. Helmut Marko, who had allowed him to enter Formula 1 directly from GP3 and take Sebastian Vettel’s place at Red Bull, decided to sideline him after only four races, demoting him to Toro Rosso to make room for Max Verstappen.

Refusing Ferrari’s offer by Maurizio Arrivabene at the end of 2015
“At the time, it was just about getting in the car and driving,” recalls Daniil Kvyat in an interview with the official Formula 1 website. “During that period, Daniel was at the peak of his performance, I believe. The car was also suited to him, and I had to solve some problems. It was still a solid season with good performances, so I was quite satisfied.” – he pointed out.

“The winter was a bit strange because I was contacted by Ferrari, by Maurizio Arrivabene. They said, ‘We want you to drive for us,’ and we started talking more and more.” – the former F1 driver admitted – “In the end, it was clear that it wouldn’t work because my ties with Red Bull were very strong. We continued in 2016; that year the car improved, but not when I was there at the beginning. Then, of course, the famous team switch…”.

After a disastrous start to the 2016 Formula One championship, culminating in a disastrous retirement at the Russian Grand Prix, Helmut Marko decided to bid farewell to Daniil Kvyat, sending him back to Toro Rosso. His seat was taken by the young Max Verstappen, who, at the first opportunity in a top team, managed to achieve his first career victory in Spain.

According to Daniil Kvyat, however, the Austrian had already intended to get rid of him even before the start of the season: “Helmut told me, ‘We need you to beat Daniel consistently in every race, more or less.'”

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“I replied, ‘Okay, let’s see, he’s not an idiot, but I’ll do my best like him.’ The first races were tough, but there were clear improvements, like in China. Then there was Sochi, and obviously, they needed it, so that’s how it goes sometimes.” – the Russian believes.

The emotional collapse

Speaking of the demotion to Toro Rosso, Daniil Kvyat revealed that he heavily suffered the blow psychologically: “The situation became difficult because my motivation was quite low, another car with a different philosophy.”

“Carlos was very hungry and confident with that car, while I, on the contrary, had neither hunger nor confidence. There’s nothing you can do against a hungry Carlos with that mental approach. There were glimpses of decent races, but it wasn’t my best season. In 2017, the approach was slightly better, but it still wasn’t right, and I think we were drifting apart from Red Bull.”

At the end of 2017, the Russian decided to take a sabbatical year, spending a season with Ferrari as a third driver: “It was clear that we needed a break. So, 2018 was the year off, and I became a reserve and test driver for Ferrari. It was nice. I needed it just to eat, train, and sleep, honestly.” In 2019, with Daniel Ricciardo’s departure from Red Bull and Pierre Gasly’s consequent promotion from Toro Rosso, Daniil Kvyat returned for the third time to Faenza, securing a splendid second place in Germany under the rain.

At the end of 2020, with the outbreak of the pandemic, the newly-formed AlphaTauri decided to bet on Yuki Tsunoda for the following seasons, and Daniil found himself forced to bid a definitive farewell to Formula 1.

Source: f1ingenerale

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Maurizio Arrivabene: “Ferrari is something that stays with you forever”

“Ferrari is something that stays with you forever. Personally, I would like to achieve an unfulfilled dream,” admits Maurizio Arrivabene, teased by Leo Turrini about a possible return to Maranello. He then adds: “As a team principal, I came close, we were there, it didn’t lack much! And we were fighting against a giant like Mercedes. Then life has its seasons, it will be up to the guys who are in Maranello now to complete that dream, and I will be the first to applaud them.” – the Italian manager pointed out.

During his four years in charge, Maurizio Arrivabene achieved fifteen victories. In the four years of his successor, Mattia Binotto, the victories secured by the Prancing Horse have been seven, less than half. “Do you want to say something?” Leo Turrini pushes, emphasizing the data and hoping for a strong reaction. However, the fomer Ferrari boss does not give in to the ‘provocation’ and comes out with “I never comment on the work of others.”

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Maurizio Arrivabene: “Silverstone is a particular circuit, no drama”

“I wouldn’t dramatize it, Silverstone is a particular circuit, elsewhere the Reds will perform much better, I’m willing to bet on it,” says Maurizio Arrivabene, commenting on Scuderia Ferrari’s bitter Sunday at the Silverstone circuit, finishing in ninth and tenth place. “This Red Bull dictatorship is not pleasing to people. But top-level motorsport is extraordinarily complex. When will this domination end? Perhaps sooner than we think. I understand the disappointment at Silverstone, yet recently the competition had closed the gap,” he emphasizes.

Reflecting on the situation at Ferrari, Maurizio Arrivabene states: “Now, in Maranello, there are the right people. I know Fred Vasseur, he is someone who understands the dynamics of the environment. When he worked in the junior categories, he did well. However, he needs time. How much? Ferrari is Ferrari. It’s not easy to manage. Fred Vasseur hasn’t been there for long. He should be given time to understand the reality and act.” – Maurizio Arrivabene continued.

During the conversation, the manager is also asked about the growing tension between Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, to which he explains: “It’s a false problem. Drake used to say it. For a driver, the teammate is the first opponent. These small frictions are part of normal things. It’s the task of a team principal to delve into the psychology of the drivers, to be their boss but also their mentor. I used to do it with two great drivers like Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, who were very different from each other.” – the former Ferrari boss concluded.

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Maurizio Arrivabene praises Fred Vasseur’s work at Ferrari and pokes at Mattia Binotto’s old management

Speaking on Sky to comment on the race of the two red cars at Silverstone (which ended in a sporting tragedy with P9 for the Monegasque and P10 for the Spanish driver), Maurizio Arrivabene said “Silverstone is a particular circuit. Ferrari will perform much better elsewhere, I am ready to bet on it.” – he pointed out.

“Now there are the right people in Maranello,” continues the former Juventus CEO, subtly criticizing former Team Principal Mattia Binotto. “Fred Vasseur is a man who doesn’t miss the dynamics of the environment. He did well when he worked in the lower categories. He needs time, even though Ferrari is Ferrari, it’s not easy to manage. Vasseur hasn’t been here for long. He needs to be given time to understand the reality and take action.” – the former Ferrari boss explained.

Mattia Binotto’s management from 2019 until the end of last Formula 1 season proved to be decidedly unsatisfactory, if not a failure. Few highs and too many, far too many lows made the Italo-Swiss technician primarily responsible for the failure to win the long-awaited World Championship title desired by the Tifosi and Formula 1 insiders.

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Fred Vasseur is certainly facing his own challenges. The Frenchman took over the reins of the sports management last January, inheriting an extremely complicated situation. The ex-Alfa Romeo boss himself has recently admitted that the SF-23 project turned out to be flawed and that he had to make corrections early on. The first consequences were seen in recent months, with several changes and departures at the top level of the Maranello team. From the management, the focus then slowly shifted to the track, with a series of updates introduced to the car that contributed to Charles Leclerc’s second-place finish in Austria.

At Silverstone, however, Ferrari seems to have taken a step back in terms of competitiveness and tire management. Both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz did not use the soft tires in the race due to fears of degradation, opting for a more conservative strategy.

All of this, combined with the unfavorable timing of the Safety Car, resulted in the anonymous ninth and tenth positions for the two red drivers in the British Grand Prix. Frederic Vasseur immediately took responsibility for the negative result, trying to be more optimistic ahead of the next race in Budapest, the Hungarian Grand Prix.

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After the qualifying session for the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Sky Sports made a ‘4ever Seb’ show, with several guests, such as Helmut Marko, Christian Horner, Mark Webber and others important figures who have worked with the German driver during his amazing career, as they recalled memories of their time together.

Among them there was also Maurizio Arrivabene, who worked with Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari for several years. The former Ferrari boss sent a message to Sebastian Vettel through a video call:

“It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other but now it’s my time to tell you something. You’ll always be in my heart, I’ll always have your back.”

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As evidence of this, a video has been circulating on Twitter for several hours with some fans of the Maranello team and the former Scuderia Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene as protagonists.

In the video, Maurizio Arrivabene, former boss of the Maranello team and current Juventus manager, is walking through the crowd accompanied by his bodyguards. At one point, a Ferrari fan shouts “Binotto out”. Maurizio Arrivabene thinks about it first. Then he turns, smiles and seems to nod his head in approval, triggering the laughter of those present at the scene.

Here is the full video:

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Maurizio Arrivabene served as principal of the Ferrari team from 2014-2019 before he was replaced by current team boss Mattia Binotto.

Since 2012 though Maurizio Arrivabene had been an independent board member of Juventus FC, and with the club now looking to stabalise its finances following the effects of the global pandemic, Arrivabene has been named as the chief executive and will oversee “all of the football business and any related powers”.

The former Ferrari boss will reportedly focus heavily on boosting the club’s sales.

His exit from the Italian side back following the conclusion of the 2018 Formula One season did come with some controversy amid talk of disagreements going on within the team, though Ferrari president John Elkann denied such rumours at the time.

“The appointment of Mattia Binotto to Scuderia Ferrari’s Team Principal does not represent a “reversal” in sports management and does not arise from alleged disagreements within the team,” Elkann previously wrote in the Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport.

“On the contrary, it is a decision decided by the Company in agreement with Maurizio Arrivabene, who in the four years of commitment in that position has worked tirelessly to bring the Scuderia back to the levels of competitiveness it deserves.”

The 2017 and 2018 seasons saw Ferrari rise to the status of title challengers, though in both they would lose out to Mercedes in the fight for the Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles.

But since Maurizio Arrivabene’s departure Ferrari’s fortunes have not improved.

The 2019 Formula 1 season saw a brief spell of leading form until a technical directive relating to engines coincided with Ferrari’s quick decline, while 2020 then saw the team slip back into the lower reaches of the midfield pack.

Fortunately 2021 has been a more positive campaign, with Scuderia Ferrari claiming a P2 finish in Monaco via Carlos Sainz as they battle with McLaren for P3 in the Constructors’ Championship.

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