Italians, as a culture, seem to value aesthetics as much or more than most cultures. They appreciate the lines, sounds and feel that make a supercar what it is.
They also have a long history in racing, particularly Formula 1, and racing is intertwined with Ferrari sports car development, while others believe that the Italian culture to be a hindrance to the success of Scuderia Ferrari at F1.
For Sebastian Vettel, he feels Ferrari’s philosophy can get it back to the front in F1. Ferrari, who has historically been the direct rival to Mercedes in the hybrid era, was speculated to maintain their competitive status, but has ultimately failed to live up to expectations in the 2019 season.
“It’s very Italian inside, has very Italian rules and traditions, which is great, that they are kept, but equally it’s very modern.” Vettel said.
“I think sometimes also this is misunderstood, because you look at Italy to say that they are very traditional with lots of things and ‘la mamma’ and all this, whatever.
“But, you know, people are still very, very forward thinking and I think we have a lot of young great talents in the team, great people with great ideas, creative ideas.
“That’s why in a way it’s a shame that we haven’t, you know, in terms of results, haven’t had that breakthrough yet. That’s why also the focus is there to keep working, do our thing, because I believe that one day we’ll be there.” Vettel added.
Vettel has come to the end of his opportunity at Ferrari with Charles Leclerc appearing to be faster than he is. However, the German feels his passion to deliver F1 World Championship title success for Ferrari is still as strong as ever.
“The mission is still the same, because we are not at the top. Obviously Mercedes has beaten us the last few years, so the mission is still up.” Vettel said.
“Obviously we had a lot of races and we made a lot of experiences. I think there were some great moments and there were some moments that were not so great, but as I said the mission is still there and the target is still there to achieve the mission, to win with Ferrari.” he added.
