Ferrari need to get their house in order after seeing Lewis Hamilton beat Sebastian Vettel to the F1 title. That is the opinion of former racing supremo Bernie Ecclestone, who says the death of Sergio Marchionne has impacted the Italian manufacturers. Ferrari’s long wait for F1 glory will go on for another year after Hamilton wrapped up Mercedes’ fifth straight championship on Sunday. The Prancing Horse have not taken home the title since Kimi Raikkonen came out on top back in 2007. And they are a long way from the heady days of the early 2000s when Michael Schumacher was the dominant force in the sport. Ferrari were shaken mid-season when former chairman and CEO Marchionne passed away. And Ecclestone says they need to be decisive on who will lead them going forwards, with Louis Camilleri currently in charge.
“I believe that after the death of Sergio Marchionne much was not working as it should have been,” Ecclestone told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag. “He was a strong man, respected. They have missed his leadership greatly. “The Italians have to decide for themselves whether the current leadership in the Ferrari team is the right one. I do not want to judge that.” Last month Ecclestone revealed why he believes Ferrari have struggled to keep up the pace with Mercedes in 2018. “It’s too Italian,” Ecclestone said. “I said to somebody the other day it’s back to the old days.” Ecclestone’s comment appeared to refer to Ferrari’s sorry spell prior to the success enjoyed with Jean Todt, Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne in charge of affairs. And he believes those figures are the type the Italian manufacturers are currently lacking. “Yes,” Ecclestone added, when asked if was referring to the era prior to Todt and Brawn’s arrival at Ferrari. “Before. “We got Todt to go there and look after things a little bit, so it wasn’t Italian too much, and Michael [Schumacher] was running the team.
“So it was all a bit different. I think they’re missing that sort of a set-up now.” Ecclestone also remarked on the contrasting management structures at work at Ferrari and Mercedes. “Ferrari have got a completely different way of going on to Mercedes, haven’t they,” Ecclestone said. “Mercedes has got a team that’s pure, all they do is racing, it’s nothing to do with the manufacturer. “Ferrari is looking after their car production side of things, gearing that more or less to their Formula 1 performances. So it’s run in a different way.”
