Ferrari looking to “Step Up a Gear”
Luca di Montezemolo has ordered Ferrari to “step up a gear” after completing an overhaul of some of the processes within the team. After team principal Stefano Domenicali resigned a week leading up to the Chinese GP, Montezemolo has taken a more hands-on approach to help Marco Mattiacci, Domenicali’s replacement, get up to speed. According to a story on Ferrari’s official website Montezemolo “has been very clear in his words to Mattiacci and his staff, recognising the need to ‘step up a gear in the work of the Gestione Sportiva’.” In order to allow the team to react more quickly, he has ordered a streamlining of the decision making processes that impact on performance. “President Montezemolo is involved at first hand in the daily work and is always in close touch with the team,” the story on the Ferrari website read. “He has asked for an immediate overhaul and streamlining of internal processes, eliminating intermediate stages and bureaucracy in order to be more flexible and efficient when it comes to the decision making process. “At the same time, in order to simplify the organisation, there have been cut backs in the number of consultants and admissions aimed at strengthening some key areas to find more performance from the F14 T.” Speaking at the Chinese Grand Prix, Mattiacci said he would be willing to look for new engineers if necessary. “With the chairman [Montezemolo] I discussed and we made a first report and clearly whatever is needed we will do, even going to the [employment] market,” he said. “But we will go with a clear idea that it is not just for the sake of doing shopping, but finding someone who will bring extreme added value to a team that all of us believe is one of the highest level teams in Formula One. That’s the philosophy at the moment.” Ferrari engineering guru Pat Fry has also come out and stated the Scuderia has no intention of giving up, although he understands that Mercedes have a considerable performance advantage. Fry believes the team is making progress after Alonso claimed his first podium for 2014, he knows there is a long way to go, especially as Kimi Räikkönen could do no better than P8 in the sister car. ”This result [third] is a reward for the effort that all the team is putting into every area,” Fry said after the Chinese Grand Prix. “This weekend we made some progress and in general, the speed of the car has increased, both in the corners and on the straights,” he added. “But we have to be realistic about our current potential and continue working, because Kimi Raikkonen’s motivation has also come under fire as the Chinese GP marked his fourth straight race finish behind the Spaniard. Kimi he has spent just eight laps ahead of his team-mate so far this season. ‘I don’t know why you always come up with motivation – if I didn’t have motivation I wouldn’t be here – It’s f*** all to do with this,’ said Raikkonen. ‘We have bad races and it’s an unfortunate thing, but that’s how it goes sometimes. The aim is to improve.’ Raikkonen’s seventh-placed finish at this year’s season opener in Australia is his best result so far.
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