Christmas together with the Ferrari family

The Scuderia's Christmas lunch is always a special event in the calendar of the women and men who work in Maranello. It is the moment in which we all meet together - from President Montezemolo to the drivers, from Stefano Domenicali to all the engineers and collaborators of the Sport Management and the representatives of sponsors and suppliers - like a real, big family to exchange greetings and to do a final assessment of the season just ended.

Many gifts - in addition to the partners, the FDA drivers were honored, those who achieved many successes in GT races with the 458 Italia and those who, like Gené, Rigon and Bianchi, contributed with obscure work to the work of the Scuderia - and best wishes but the most important words were spoken by the official riders and, of course, Montezemolo.

“For me it was a very difficult year, especially at the beginning, when we couldn't find the right direction to work with the car” – said Felipe Massa, greeted by great and affectionate applause from those present – ​​“The second part was very different: I was more competitive and, thanks to the strength that you all gave me, I managed to go back to what I had always been. Now I'm more motivated than ever: the second part of the season was like training for the next one. In 2013 I really want to come back here on this occasion to celebrate something even more beautiful together!”

“I want to thank all of you and our partners for what you do for us drivers who race all over the world to defend the colors of Ferrari” – added Fernando Alonso, who received the deserved ovation for an extraordinary season – “In particular, I want to thank those who work on the track and spend a lot of time away from their families and those in Maranello who work day and night to improve the car and make us fight to win world titles. This year we achieved some victories and fought for the World Championship until the end, for the second time in three years, a result that few can say they have achieved. Really, thank you all and, as Felipe said, we hope to meet again in this same room in a year with a beautiful car and with something else nearby..."

The most heartfelt thanks were those of the President, addressed to everyone but especially to those who are never in the limelight. “You are our most important heritage, you represent our present and our future: without you there would not have been Ferrari, neither today nor in the past” – said Montezemolo – “I want to congratulate you for what you have done, starting with reliability. To win in Formula 1 you need perfection in everything: we must be happy with the improvements we have made in terms of strategies, in pit stops and in race preparation, the fixed points that we must maintain next year too. We lacked a car that was faster than the others and we must reflect carefully on the reasons why we didn't have one and give ourselves some answers because in 2013 the objective not only of mine but of all of you will be to immediately have a single-seater in capable of winning. We all have to do something more to achieve this but without losing anything of what we have achieved this year, starting with reliability.”

In reviewing the championship just concluded, Montezemolo could not help but remember the episodes that heavily marked Fernando's path such as the accidents at the start at Spa and Suzuka but also invited the entire audience to give world champion Sebastian Vettel a round of applause because “We must always compliment those who win because it isn't done by chance and because we hope that next year others will do it for us…”

Finally, Montezemolo spoke about the two official riders. “I don't know where he went in the first part of the year” – he said jokingly of Felipe – “but I'm very happy that he's back, both because he allowed us to finish ahead of important teams in the Constructors' classification and in view of next year . Fernando had an extraordinary season and I regret not having given him a car that was as fast as it was reliable but I'm sure that if we had reached the last races with a few more points left on the road between one collision and another, thank you based on his abilities and those of the team he would have been able to win anyway: congratulations to Fernando and thanks for what he did for Ferrari!”