Montezemolo: “2011 is a difficult year for Ferrari”
With only one victory this season and a third place in the constructors' championship, the president of Ferrari stated that the year 2011 had been complicated for the Scuderia.
Luca Di Montezemolo expected more from the 2011 F1 season. While a driver’s title was within reach until the end of the 2010 season, the Scuderia was hit hard this year by the ultra-domination of Red Bull Racing as well as the increased competitiveness of McLaren’s cars.
Thus, Di Montezemolo described this year as difficult for the Maranello team, adding that the team may have paid for its efforts in the fight for the 2010 title. It is thus clear to the Italian boss that last year’s dashed hopes have affected the troops’ morale.
« We especially did not have the car that I, the team, and the fans were expecting, » added the president of Ferrari.
Nevertheless, the iconic Italian boss still finds something to be positive about: « We can always rejoice with our result at Silverstone, a victory of Fernando Alonso sixty years after Froilan Gonzalez’s victory on the same circuit, Ferrari’s very first victory in the pinnacle of motorsport. That’s a source of satisfaction. »
« We can also be proud to have been, since 1997 and almost continuously, a team that plays for the title every year, up until the very last races, while our main rivals, Williams, McLaren, Renault, and now Red Bull, keep changing, » concluded Di Montezemolo.
Third in the world championship (for the second consecutive year) with 325 points this year, Ferrari still has two Grand Prix remaining to show what it is capable of and perhaps, hint at good things for 2012.
