Ferrari, the die has been cast but now we need to have the humility and strength to start again

“Don't ask me why…instead I love you…” so sings Luca Carboni in his new hit, but the Ferrari fans, madly in love with a team that is no longer able to give satisfaction to its fans, certainly cannot say that they are "Happy ".

After the "fall of the gods" at Silverstone, with a Ferrari appearing in embarrassing difficulty, the usual trials began more or less everywhere. There are those who have invited Marchionne to take responsibility for the failure and those unfortunate and inconsiderate proclamations of victory, there are those who ask for the head of Arrivabene, a genuine and spontaneous Brescian who however does not receive all sorts of sympathy. Then there are those who wrote about a Marchionne ready to make heads roll and about an Arrivabene who is already negotiating a severance package with Ferrari.

The truth, raw and bitter, is that the red one in 2016 was an unexpected splash, a debacle which surprised everyone, a disarming step backwards. Maranello, if there were still any need, has reconfirmed its technical delay towards the current Formula 1 system. We will never know how much of the blame is attributable to the designers, how much to the structures, how much to the integration between the various departments and work management models, but the only objective fact is that Ferrari does not excel in any of the areas that are needed to be competitive in F1: chassis, aerodynamics and engine. And in view of 2017, threatening clouds dense with energy drinks threaten even more the already fragile ecosystem of Ferrari, which after the elusive Mercedes will have to deal with another cat (bull) to peel.

But this is not meant to be yet another Red Army article-inquisition-trial. More than anything else, a request, a request, a friendly piece of advice. Ferrari changes its approach, puts pride aside and starts from the bottom, planning long-term redemption.

Making mistakes, failing, even spectacularly, is part of fallacious human nature, it is not a crime to be prosecuted and the "culprits" should not be sent to the gallows. Ferrari is like a football team that is down two goals against a stronger opponent, has poured all its efforts into attack and scored a goal on the counterattack. They tried it in Maranello, and they were told very badly, as the SF16-H is lopsided, unstable, nervous.

Marchionne and Arrivabene should call a press conference, apologize to the fans for the excessive optimism shown in the winter, accepting the severe and final verdict of the track. After that, Ferrari should work hard on a double track:

- Marchionne should use all his skills and charisma as an expert automotive manager to impose Ferrari's political weight on the Federation, giving the Cavallino a central role in F1 and not that of a submissive handmaiden (or sparring partner to be punched) of teams mostly without history. The real game is being played there, and it is the return to private testing, to regulatory freedom, perhaps to the end of the regime single tyre.

- The Cavallino leaders should commit to a unprecedented technical market, trying to take the best on the market to transform Ferrari into the war machine that it was at the beginning of the twenty-first century. We need a strong signal of discontinuity, a strengthening of the workforce that is capable of frightening rivals, now accustomed to dancing on the remains of an inconsistent Ferrari. You have to hit them at home, taking away the best pieces.

This is not the time to cut heads, but to add them. It is no longer advisable to go unbalanced or go ahead with slogans, but we should be clear and honest with the fans. It hurts to see how the 2015 car, the one "designed" by Tombazis, was more efficient than the 2016, the first of the "new course". Something didn't go right - from the wrong turbo to the chassis that didn't work well - and Ferrari must acknowledge it with the right amount of humility. Only by becoming aware of one's mistakes can one build, over time, an important and perhaps successful future, it all means having the strength to start again (almost) from scratch.

Antonino Rendina

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