Montezemolo, Vasseur and the team order case
The controversy around Ferrari’s missed team order at Zandvoort has not yet completely died down, when for several laps Lewis Hamilton was stuck behind teammate Charles Leclerc – who was on a different race strategy – and during that phase of the race slowed down the seven-time world champion Englishman, who was very angry on the radio about the team’s lack of intervention.
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The last to give his opinion on the matter was the former Ferrari president Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, who ahead of the Italian GP weekend at Monza was interviewed by Quotidiano Nazionale. Montezemolo, who since having to leave the presidency of Ferrari in 2014 has never been particularly gentle in his judgments on the management of the Prancing Horse, focused in particular on the criticisms made of team principal Fred Vasseur, accused by some of not having enough ‘grip’ in deciding who to back between Hamilton and Leclerc. However, Montezemolo shifted the focus of the discussion to the company’s top management.
In my time
“After the last race in the Netherlands, I heard criticism of Fred Vasseur because he did not give team orders between Hamilton and Leclerc. But, beyond the episode, we should all ask ourselves who the French manager can consult with inside the company,” Montezemolo observed. Then, to reinforce his reasoning, the former Ferrari number one cited a case from his tenure: the famous team order that forced Rubens Barrichello to let Michael Schumacher win the 2002 Austrian GP.
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“I don’t want to play the nostalgic part – Montezemolo emphasized – but I remember that when Todt in Austria ordered Barrichello to let Schumacher win a race because that, right or wrong in the eyes of the public, was the interest of the team, well, the Brazilian complained a lot. I, who was the president, called him and said to him: I represent Ferrari, you are our employee, if you don’t like Todt’s choices you can look for another team.”
“I feel Vasseur’s loneliness – Montezemolo concluded – Who would have his back if he had to make a decision, maybe even an unpopular one?.”
