Ferrari: Dinner with the Italian F1 press at Fiorano

Toasts, gifts and best wishes last night at the Fiorano track where Luca di Montezemolo welcomed the correspondents of the Italian Formula 1 media and long-time friends at the traditional Christmas dinner which, on Thursday 16th, will be followed by a similar appointment with some journalists of the foreign sports press.

This year's event was preceded by a rich program of activities, which began with a press meeting with Luca Baldisserri who took stock of a year of activity of the Ferrari Driver Academy (we talk about it in detail in another news), continued with the journalists engaged in a series of pit-stop tests with the F10 which contested the last races of the season with Fernando Alonso (5”4 the best time of the improvised team of mechanics) and concluded with a surprise visit to the Formula 1 simulator, which has also reached its first birthday.

Together with the President of Ferrari, the Vice President Piero Ferrari and the Team Principal of the Scuderia Stefano Domenicali were also present. The occasion served to take stock of a year of sporting activities. “It's clear that there was a strong disappointment, as is inevitable when you lose a title at the last race” – said Montezemolo while the journalists enjoyed the usual tortellini in capon broth – “but I'm still satisfied with what we did. In his first year with us, Fernando worked very well: he brought a breath of optimism and conviction. Nobody believed him when, in July, he said that he would be fighting until the end and instead that's exactly what happened. I really like the drivers who are often in Maranello, who form a group with the team. Felipe didn't have a good season, for various reasons, but I am convinced that next year he will do very well and we will put him in a position to do so. Votes? I give 8 to the team, 9 and a half to Fernando and 7- to Felipe.”

“I want to congratulate Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber and we must give credit to those who had the best car, Red Bull” – continued the President – ​​“Our objective next year is very simple: racing to win. There will be no major changes in the team, just some small adjustments: this group is already capable of winning and revolutions are certainly not necessary. I feel very sorry for Domenicali, because if the victory had come it would have been a success for a team with a strong Italian imprint, grown in the name of that dynamic stability which is the synthesis of our philosophy. To achieve our goal is to have the best car, right from the start of the season.”

A separate chapter was reserved for a look at the state of Formula 1 and its future: "We hope to have a good season like this year too next year and not one like in 2009, when the championship was like doped. The small teams? I honestly believe that it is better to have the possibility of making a third car available rather than having cars that would struggle even in GP2: it is an idea that we will strongly relaunch for the future. If I think about the new circuits I feel like saying that it would be better if we thought more about the racing, with an increase in the possibility of overtaking, and less about the architectural beauty. Then we need to unblock this absurd limitation of testing: Formula 1 is the only sport in which you cannot train. It's like asking Real Madrid, Milan or Inter to play with smooth shoes if it rains or not to train before a Champions League match. Luckily, the ban on giving team orders has been abolished: it was pure hypocrisy. Things have always gone this way and those who race for Ferrari are perfectly aware of this. The FIA ​​under the leadership of Jean Todt is working well and this decision is a confirmation of this.”

The evening ended with the delivery of gifts for the journalists. Together with the model of the F10 and the two volumes - number 11 of the Ferrari Magazine and Racing Activities - which constitute the tradition, this year there was an extra surprise: all those present were given a free FutuRisiko, the latest version of the strategy game known throughout the world. Since there has been a lot of talk about strategy in recent weeks, here is an excellent opportunity for the media to train their mind, just as they did with their body in the afternoon at the time of the pit stop!